


Four Lives

by karnsniehaus



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Non-clone AU, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-06-17 23:29:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 101,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15472506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karnsniehaus/pseuds/karnsniehaus
Summary: Cosima and Delphine have been living the life of their dreams for five years now. Living and working together on the forensics team for the Toronto Police Department, they have stablished a healthy and loving relationship, just the two of them. But that’s about to change when a murder happens and messes with their whole lives.(Cophine, non-clone AU)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, what's up?
> 
> So, this is (surprisingly, even for me) my first cophine fanfiction! Sure, I've written lots of oneshots but they never left my phone. I really like this one and it has a special place in my heart.  
> English is not my first language, so there might be some grammar errors - if you find any, let me know!  
> I really hope you enjoy reading it just as much as I'm enjoying writing it!

If Cosima could take a shot at where her life was going to be today five years ago, _this_ , for sure, wouldn’t be even her tenth guess. When she got into college she thought she’d be a scientist or would be working on medicine formulas to cure cancer. Never, once in her life, she imagined she’d be working at a police lab, searching for forensics, blood types and different fibers on dead people’s clothes. And if you ask, finding the love of her life in this job wouldn’t have been her answer either. Love wasn’t something she was searching for or even believed in when she found herself waiting for that text message inviting her for coffee that Delphine had promised she’d send. Now, five years later, she has a beautiful home with Delphine and an amazing job where she can still help people, not by curing them, but finding whoever took their lives so soon. It wasn’t easy being around death all the time, but at the end, when Art – her closest cop friend – tells her that they got the murderer, all she can feel is relief. She has a wonderful job and an incredible girlfriend, who, by the way, is also her colleague. What else could she possibly want?

 

Cosima was about to pack her things to go home when the clock hit 8:30PM. Delphine went to give back Art some papers she had gotten to check some evidence. The blonde had already packed up her things, she did not like to leave things undone or to be done lastly. Before Cosima could hit the door, holding both their bags, Scott came towards her holding a plastic bag with some clothes on it.

“Oh, no.” Cosima let out a sigh when she saw the look on his face. “Another one? This late at night?”

“It happened twenty minutes ago.” There was sadness in his tone. He took a last look at the bag in his hands before handling it to Cosima. “Female, 30, gunshot to her stomach. Looks like a shooting. I don’t know anything else, Art is at the crime scene but he sent Paul with this for you and Delphine to start looking into it before you both leave.”

“Did she live on the street? I need more info, you know that.”

“I don’t have any, I’m sorry. Art said he’ll be here in five.”

“I will get Delphine.” Cosima was tired and wanted to get home as soon as possible, but she couldn’t leave knowing that she needed to examine the clothes.

She put the bags down on the couch and went to the elevator. When the doors opened, she saw Delphine with a new beige folder on her hand. The woman had a sad facial expression and Cosima knew that because her lips would always tremble involuntarily, like if she wanted to cry. Her first instinct was to grab the woman and give her a hug, tell her it would all be okay, but she didn’t. She knew Delphine was holding the notes Paul must’ve given her about the new case. Delphine looked at Cosima with her sad eyes and it broke Cosima’s heart.

“New case?” Cosima asked and all she was given was a nod.

“She was _so young._ ” Delphine’s voice sounded angry and hurt at the same time. _She’s about to cry,_ Cosima thought.

Suddenly Delphine was in a tight hug, but she refused to cry. Every time a new case would come she’d let her weak side show off. How is she supposed to work at a crime division if she can’t handle death? She _knew_ why, but she shook her head trying to stop thinking about it. Delphine was surrounded by death all the time and yet, when it comes to her work, she can’t keep it together.

“I just hate it.” she whispered.

“I know, babe. I’m sorry.” Cosima gave a gentle kiss on the woman’s cheek. “Scott said that Art need us to start right now. I don’t know why. He didn’t say much, only her age and how she died. And, you know, that’s she’s a ‘she’.”

“Yeah, Paul gave me these notes from forensics at the crime scene. They didn’t catch the guy and no witnesses, too. She had her documents with her, though. Her name is Elena Torres and she’s from Colombia. Blood type is O+. She lived a few blocks away.”

“Queens?” Cosima asked in hopes to get a little more information about her status. Near the station were two neighborhoods, one of them being the most dangerous in Toronto. She mentally crossed her fingers and hoped for the best. “Please, tell me it’s Queens.”

“Waterfront.”

“Damn it.”

“Do you think it could be drugs?”

“I honestly don’t know. You can expect everything when it comes to Waterfront.” her hand went through her hair and let out a deep sigh. Cosima knew she was stressed out because she does the hair thing when she’s angry about something. “Let’s just start this and get home, ok?”

“Ok.” Cosima’s hand met Delphine’s and they intertwined their fingers as they walked back to the lab.

 

It was almost 10PM when they finished processing the blood. There were three stains on the shirt that was given to them. Two of them were type O+, which were a match with the victim’s type, and the other one was A+. Delphine was staring at the paper for almost three minutes now when Cosima snapped her fingers in front of her eyes.

“Hey, come back to Earth.”

“Do you think she’s married?” Delphine put the paper down to look at Cosima, who was separating some fibers she found on the piece of clothing.

“Maybe? I don’t know. Why? What did you find?”

“A type A+ blood. She’s O+.”  


“Maybe it’s the murderer’s.” Cosima made the statement but based on Delphine’s expression it was not what the blonde was expecting to hear. “What?”

“Maybe, if she’s married, it could be the husband’s blood and he killed her.”

“Or wife.”

“Husband, wife, doesn’t really matter in this case, does it?”

“Yeah, not really.” the frustration started to show in Cosima’s mood. The woman had been standing for two hours now and all she really wanted was her bed. “We can finish this tomorrow morning, first thing, I promise. Now can we, please, go home? My blisters are getting blisters.”

“Yeah, let’s go home. We need to rest.” Delphine put back the evidence in the plastic bag and Cosima did the same with the fibers she found. They put everything in storage before taking a last look around. They weren’t missing anything, so they locked the door and headed towards the elevator.

 

Art was the first face they saw as soon as they got to the first floor. Based on his furrowed eyebrows, Delphine could tell the man was also worried about the new case.

“Art, do you have anything on the new case?” They approached Art. Cosima didn’t let go of Delphine’s hand, she barely moved.

“Nothing. We haven’t found the guy yet and no one saw what happened. Her body was taken to the morgue, Scott will open her up tomorrow. You guys should go home and rest. We will have more in the morning.” he said as he walked through them to his desk. “Take care.”

“You too.” they said in unison.

As soon as they walked out of the building the cold breeze hit their skin, which cause Delphine to shiver.

“Hey, babe, here, take my jacket.” Cosima started to take her jacket off but Delphine stopped her.

“No way, you were coughing last night and your immune system is worse than mine. You keep that on. The car is not far away, only two streets away. I will be fine.”

“Don’t mother me.”

“Yeah, if I don’t you’d probably die since you don’t like taking care of your health.”

“Hey, I am not a baby.” Cosima’s voice was high pitched.

They walked together, bodies close so Delphine wouldn’t freeze to death, when the brunette tripped on something.

“Oh, hey, look!” the woman ducked down and grabbed the pacifier she found on the floor. “A real one lost this. Poor thing, must be crying like crazy.”

“Every mom knows to buy more than one of those, I’m sure they’re fine.”

“Are they, though? You don’t know!”

“Yes, I do, now get in the car.” Delphine said as they got to the car.

“What do I do with this?” Cosima questioned Delphine, staring at the white and blue pacifier on her hand.

“I don’t know. Just put it in the glove compartment. You never know when you’ll find a baby in need. We can wash it when we get home.”

“Only if I can wash my body first.”

“Sure, babe, anything.” she smiled gently at the woman sitting next to her.

Delphine drove through the city streets. When she crossed a street on Waterfront, only three streets away from where the car was parked, it gave her chills. She saw a dark figure moving in the shadows. Her heart was beating like crazy and for a moment she thought she’d seen a child. _No, it can’t be. No mother would let their kids on the streets this late at night by themselves,_ Delphine thought. It frightened her, which almost caused her to cross a red sign.

“Hey, are you okay?” Cosima looked concerned. Delphine was distracted and she knew that. The blonde seemed to be paler and it worried Cosima due to previous events. Her whole body shivered.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Delphine answered taking another look at the shadow. This time, she didn’t see anything. “I’m just tired. Let’s go home.”

Delphine thought she was just tired. The case had shaken her and she started to see things, just like she did when she was a child. All she needed to do was to get Cosima home, safely. So, she kept driving until they got home ten minutes later. But her mind was still in that shadow figure. _She wasn’t seeing things, was she? It could be a real person. What if the child was lost? What if the kid had lost something? Or someone?_ Delphine shook her head to get the thoughts off her mind and locked the door behind her.

“I’m going to take that shower now, ok? You’re ok?”

“Yes, babe, I’m fine. Go, I’ll be right there.”

“Okay.” Cosima gave Delphine a quick kiss and went upstairs.

 _Everything is okay,_ Delphine thought. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. _There was nothing there to see. I’m just tired and my mind is playing tricks on me._

The only thing is: there was, but it didn’t want to be seen.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!  
> Let me just say this: I'm so overwhelmed by the response of the first chapter! I never thought this many people would even be interested enough to read this, so thank you. Really. It means A LOT.  
> Hope you enjoy this one!

Scott had arrived at the station earlier that day. Just like Delphine, he was pretty shaken up with the whole story. The woman had been killed for, apparently, no reason at all. It’s understandable that living in such place as Waterfront she would be exposed to this level of violence but still doesn’t justify or explain why her. There was no reason at all for this woman to die so soon.

When he opened her chest, he searched through every inch of the body for justification. If she’d been on drugs, which he would easily find and he had already sent a blood sample for toxicological purposes, it would be motive. She couldn’t pay the dealers and they got rid of her. Usually people who rent houses in Waterfront don’t have much money since it’s a cheaper neighborhood, ruled by drugs and thefts. _This could be her case,_ Scott thought, _she could be running from an abusive partner and had nowhere else to go._ He let out a sigh of frustration and sorrow.

Heels tapping on the floor took Scott’s attention off the body to see Delphine and Cosima entering the morgue. They grabbed a pair of gloves and a mask and put them on.

“Anything?” Cosima got closer to the pale and cold body laid down on the metal table.

“I’m waiting for some results from the tox lab. I sent some blood samples to see if there’s any kind of drug in her system, but that’s all so far. She didn’t have any severe diseases but she did have an ulcer, which makes sense since she’s from Colombia.” he explained.

“Could’ve been caused by eating too much spicy food for so long.” Delphine added.

Scott held her stomach in his hands, showing red rashes that looked like bruises.

“Which also means she hadn’t been living here for long. Probably six months to a year maximum, based on how these red bruises look.” The blonde said.

“And also” Scott said. “I noticed something you both probably will not enjoy.”

He slid off the white sheet covering the rest of the body, as in her hips, intimate parts and half of her legs, from her. The skin wasn’t bruised, just a few light hematomas that were probably caused by the fall when she hit the floor. There were no scars except the one where Scott cut.

“You know I have to open her pelvic region too to look for any abnormalities. It’s procedure.” He said and they both nodded. “So, when I finished examining her, I noticed her hip bones. See how they’re expanded?”

“She had kids.” Cosima was mad and hurt. It was so unfair. Her voice was filled with sorrow and anger. She huffed and start pacing around the table. “She didn’t have any scars on her uterus region, so it wasn’t a c-section.”

“Does Art know that? Did you tell him already?” Delphine asked Scott. He shook his head no in response. The woman was hurt seeing her loved one broken like that.

“He’s not here yet, I guess. At least he wasn’t when I got here. Although I was almost two hours early.”

“Let us know when you have those lab results in hand, ok?” Cosima asked as she walked towards the door.

“Will do.”

“Thank you, Scott.” Delphine gave the man a smile before heading out to her lab.

 

As they walked out from the morgue, they saw Art entering the precinct. He held a folder and a cup of coffee in his hands.

“Morning, Art.” Delphine greeted the man. “You’re just coming in now?”

“Good morning, both of you. And yes, I just got here. Do you have any new information? Has Scott arrived yet?”

“Yes, he got here two hours before his shift started. He did the job on the corpse and now he’s waiting some lab results to come in.”

“Art, Elena had children.” Cosima spoke. “Scott noticed her hip bones. Did you find anything about it, her personal life, anything?”

“Not yet. I was just heading to my desk to see if someone had any news. I’ll start looking for the kids, see if there’s any missing person’s report filed from the last weeks and I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

“Ok, if you need us we’ll be in our lab.”

“I know” The man smiled. “Do you ever separate from each other?”

Art walked away, disappearing in the hall that led to his desk. Delphine and Cosima went the opposite direction towards the elevator.

The morgue and Art’s desk were on the first floor whilst their lab was on the third floor. Delphine followed Cosima, who was walking pretty fast, until they hit the elevator. She was silent as a butterfly which made Delphine uncomfortable. The brunette usually is so radiant in the morning and couldn’t shut up about the weather or how the day was bright and beautiful even when the sky was grey.

“Babe, they’re going to find whoever did this to her. Don’t worry.” Delphine turned to see Cosima’s face. Her cheeks were red and Delphine knew what it meant. _She wanted to cry._

“It’s not about that.” Her voice broke. “She had a kid. Or two, I don’t know. Maybe even three. Why her? Who would do such a thing?”

Cosima couldn’t hold back her tears anymore.

“Where are these kids now? Are they safe or with an aunt or an uncle? It’s not fair. What if they’re on the street? It’s freezing outside, Delphine. This is all so unfair.” She let herself fall into Delphine’s arms, the only place she could find comfort.

“Hey, slow down.” Delphine chuckled. “This is not our job to do, ok? Art has an amazing team downstairs and I can assure you they’re doing their best to solve this case. They will find the kids. For now, all we can do is get our asses to our lab and do our research, ok?”

“Yeah, ok. Thank you.” She cleaned her face with the hem of her sleeve. Delphine kissed her forehead and hugged her tighter before letting go of her.

“ _Je t’aime_.”

“ _Moi aussi_.”

Cosima smiled for the first time that day.

 

A violin sound came from Delphine’s phone making the blonde jump. She was expecting a text from Scott since earlier. She reached for the phone and let a little smile slip from her lips as she read who it was from.

“It’s Scott.” She said louder so Cosima could hear her from across the room. “The test results came in. She’s clear.”

“Wait, no drugs?” She said in response. It got her confused. _Why someone would kill her then?_ Delphine shook her head no. “It makes absolutely no sense.”

“She lived in a very bad neighborhood. Unfortunately, these things happen. Most of our reports come from there. Maybe she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“We found nothing else on her clothes besides that A+ blood.” She said. “Oh, god. Maybe it’s her child’s blood. Does Art know anything about it yet?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t spoken to him since we got here.”

“I’m going downstairs to check with him, ok? My notes are in her file, if Paul comes up to get them.”

Cosima got up and left the lab with hundreds of questions yet to be answered about the case. She never really got much into the cases, but this one she wanted to solve so bad. She got into the elevator and went downstairs to find Art writing some addresses down, getting up and buckling his belt up.

“Art, hey!” She said. “Uhm, I was wondering if you have something on the kids?”

“Kids?”

“Yeah, Elena’s.”

“Oh, right. In fact, I think I do.” He said showing her the paper he had just written on. “An anonymous caller said to have seen a little boy near the crime scene and they said he was lost. We’re going down there. I’ll let you know if that’s her kid when I get there.”

“Ok.” She said as she saw the man walking out the room.

It was barely 2PM and Cosima already felt the exhaustion in her body. She went to the cafeteria to get a cup of coffee and maybe a pretzel. She grabbed her phone from her pocket and texted Delphine.

_“I’m in the cafeteria getting a cup of coffee. You want something?”_

It didn’t take long until she felt her phone buzzing in her hand.

_“I do, actually. Can you bring me a piece of chicken pie and an OJ, please? I’m so hungry :(“_

Cosima let out a smirk. She could almost hear Delphine’s voice and see that sad emoji on her face.

_“Sure! I’ll be up in five”._

 

She put her phone in her pocket again and went straight to the counter.

“Hey, Cosima!” Donnie greeted her. “What can I do for you today?”

“Hey, Donnie! Uhm, well, Delphine wants a piece of chicken pie and an orange juice, so I’ll be taking that.” She said. Donnie wrote everything down and marked the “to go” box. “And I’d like a cup of your strongest coffee and a pretzel, please.”

“Ok, that’ll be $8.”

Cosima took $10 out and paid for her food. She sat on the balcony, which had a view to the street, to wait for her order when she saw a little girl who seemed pretty scared walking alone. She was looking around frantically, like she knew she was being followed or making sure she could run from whoever was looking for her. Cosima got up when the girl entered the precinct.

“Hey.” Cosima approached the girl. She was clearly scared. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Annie.” The girl whispered and kept looking around.

She looked like she was 4 years old and had long curly brown hair and big hazel eyes. Her clothes and her face were a little dirty, like she had played for hours on a playground.

“Hi, Annie! I’m Cosima.” She smiled to her but she didn’t smile back. “Where are your parents? Are you here alone?”

“I don’t know, that’s why I came here.” Annie said a little bit louder now, holding back her tears. “My mom taught me how to get here in case I felt scared or in danger.”

“Cosima, it’s ready!” Donnie screamed at her pointing to her food in a white paper bag.

“I’m coming.” She answered.

Cosima looked at the girl again and she was shivering. It was a little bit cold outside and the girl had only blue jeans and a black t-shirt on.

“I’ll help you find your mom, ok?” She said to Annie who simply nodded in response.

Cosima gestured to take Annie’s hand and bring her inside. The girl hesitated for a minute but then she took Cosima’s hand. Cosima felt how cold her hand was and rubbed it with both of hers.

“Are you cold, sweetie?” Annie nodded.

“Do you have any child sized jacket back there? She’s freezing cold.” Cosima asked Donnie, since he was the one who kept the key to the _Lost and Found_ room.

“I think so, let me check. I’ll be right back.”

Donnie disappeared through the back door and Cosima grabbed her paper bag. She picked up her phone from her pocket and texted Delphine again.

_“I’m gonna need you to come down here. There’s a lost child. I’m with her”_

Almost instantly she got a response.

_“Coming down right now”._

 

In a matter of minutes Delphine was walking through the cafeteria door to find Cosima sitting with the girl. She couldn’t help but smile at the scene.

“Oh, hello.” Delphine said to the girl with a smile. “I see you made a new friend.” She said towards Cosima this time.

“I sure did.” She said. “This is Annie. Annie, this is my… girlfriend, Delphine.”

“Hello.” Annie said with a shy smile now. “Your hair is pretty.”

“Oh, thank you! You’re so kind.” Delphine’s smile was huge and Cosima smiled involuntarily as she watched the scene. The blonde was great with kids. “Cosima, a word?”

Cosima got up and went away from the girl so she couldn’t hear them and got closer to Delphine.

“She’s so small. You said she’s lost?”

“Yeah, she came in like five minutes ago saying she’s lost and that her mom taught her how to get here if she ever felt scared or in danger.”

Cosima stopped talking and opened her eyes like if she’d seen a ghost. Her jaw dropped to the floor as her brain put all the pieces of the puzzle together.

“Oh, my God.” 

“What?”

Cosima walked towards the girl again who had both of her arms on the table and her head resting on top of them. Annie looked at Cosima and got up.

“Hey, Annie, what’s your mom’s name?”

“Elena.”

Delphine’s eyes shot wide open and she almost let a gasp out. Cosima’s expression went from worried to heartbroken in a millisecond. The girl looked at them and seemed confused. Delphine didn’t know what to say or how to react and neither did Cosima. The brunette’s phone buzzed in her pocket and she saw the text she had just gotten from Art.

_“It’s not him. We found his mom. We’re going back to the station now.”_

Cosima started typing with her shaking hands.

_“I know. It’s not a boy and she’s here.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What are your thoughts? Please share them! And if anyone wants to say hi or anything, you can find me at @tatxmasIany on twitter! :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's upppp, people!  
> The story is starting to unfold itself now! This is not my best writing, but I like this chapter very much! It's kind of sad, but I've been told that sad things are my specialty.  
> I'm not from Canada (or anywhere near it) so I'm not sure if the names/terms I put on this chapter are correct. So if you find something wrong, just let me know!  
> Enjoy it, folks :)

“I won’t let you do this!” Cosima almost screamed at Art. Delphine tried to hold the woman back, grabbing her arm gently but failed.

“Cosima, I have to! She’s the only person who can give me information.”

“She’s, I don’t know, four! Do you think she’ll be helpful?” Cosima pointed at the girl sitting on the table, wrapped in a white jacket that Donnie had found. The huge pretzel and cup of hot chocolate Donnie gave her distracted the girl from the argument happening. 

“I don’t know, that’s why I need to ask her some questions.” Art was impatient. Delphine took a look at the girl and let out a deep sigh.

“Cosima, let him do his job. It’s just a few questions, it won’t hurt her.” Delphine tried talking to Cosima smoothly as possible, but all the brunette gave her was an incredulous look.

“Really, Delphine? You, of all people? _You know_ this is not going to be good for her right now.”

“You don’t get to talk to me like that, not when it comes to _this_ subject.”

The blonde was clearly hurt and tried to not let her voice break.

“Art won’t tell her like he would do with an adult. You can stay with her if you want to.” She added, lowering her voice and keeping her head down.

“Ok.” Cosima gave up. Annie would find out about it sooner or later and she’d rather be with the girl when it happens. “And I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

She looked at Delphine and the woman let out a shy smile.

“It’s fine. Come on.” She gestured for Cosima to follow her and Art, who was already walking towards the girl’s table.

Art was waiting for the girls before start talking to Annie. He knew it wasn’t a comfortable situation, for neither of them, but he had to. If he wanted to made her mother justice, he needed to talk to the girl. But the hardest part was yet to come. Sometimes he really hated his job.

“Annie, sweetie, come here.”

Cosima pulled her hand out to grab Annie’s, but the girl hesitated and looked at her food as if she was worried about what to do with it.

“You can bring it with you.” The woman said like she could read the girl’s mind.

Annie took her hot chocolate in one hand and put the last piece of her pretzel in her mouth, which made her to almost not be able to chew it. She let out a smirk and put one hand in front of her mouth.

“I think that piece was a little too big for your mouth, young lady.” Delphine said, making the child laugh. Delphine smiled.

“Hey, listen” Cosima started. “My friend over there, see? His name is Art.”

“Like the things in the museums?” She asked with her mouth still half full.

“Yeah, just like that.” Cosima laughed. “He wants to talk to you, is it okay? It’s just a few questions and, if you want me to, I’ll be with you the whole time.”

“Ok.” The girl nodded her head.

“Ok, then.”

Cosima nodded her head yes to Art and he approached them. Annie didn’t move, but her feet were unstoppable. She kept twisting them and Cosima knew she was nervous. Delphine noticed it too.

“It’ll be okay, sweetheart.” the blonde said to Annie with a smile and gave her a kiss on her forehead.

She held the girl from behind, her arms were on each side of her neck and putting her hands together right below her chin. Her heart melted when she felt Annie holding her hands. Annie didn’t look scared, she seemed worried. Delphine let go of the girl when Art pulled his arm out for Annie to take her to his desk. Cosima was right beside her and Delphine watched the scene from afar.

“Annie, right?” Art spoke. “You can sit right here if you want.” He pointed out to the chair next to his.

“Can you hold this, please?” She gave the cup she was holding to Cosima so she could climb the high chair.

“Ok, Annie, I’m Art. It’s so nice to meet you.” He said giving a huge, sincere smile to the girl. “So, how old are you?”

“I just turned five last week. My mom gave me a teddy bear.”

Cosima watched the whole scene and she was amazed by how Art switched from the tough guy he had to be to the sweetest man on Earth. Even his voice tone was softer. _Maybe he has a soft spot for kids,_ Cosima thought.

“That is so cool! I had a teddy bear too, you know? When I was about your age. His name was Bob. What’s yours?”

“His name is Sully. I love Monsters Inc. I watch it with my mommy all the time.”

The girl smiled from a second but then the smile disappeared. Cosima’s heart broke when she saw the expression on her face. She felt Delphine’s arms wrapping around her and rested her head on the woman’s chest.

“What happened? Is it something about your mom?”

“I don’t know where she is. That’s why I came here.”

“What do you mean?”

“She went out last night and when I woke up this morning she wasn’t there too.”

“When was the last time you saw your mom, do you remember what time it was?”

“No.” She shook her head no and looked down at her lap. “I think it was right before Theo ate.”

Art’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Who’s Theo, Annie?”

“My baby brother.” She said.

Cosima and Delphine both let out a gasp and Cosima wanted to cry. The ground beneath her disappeared and she felt her legs getting weak.

“He was sleeping in his crib when I ran here.” She added, looking at Cosima and Delphine. It seemed like she wanted to apologize.

“Art” The blonde said. “We need to go get him. Right now.” Delphine got closer to them and bent down, on her knees, next to Annie. “Can you show us where you live?”

“Yes. I locked the door. My mom always said that I should lock it when she’s out and never open it for anyone. Not even the police.”

She said the last part with a blush, like she was embarrassed. She was now crying.

“I didn’t want to leave him alone, I swear. But I was _so_ scared.”

“It’s okay, baby. You did the right thing.” Cosima said and gave the girl a kiss on her forehead. Art was already walking out towards the car. “Come on, let’s go.”

The three girls walked out the door and got in the car. Annie was curled up like a baby in Delphine’s arms. She guided Art through the streets, saying when he should turn left or right. In a matter of minutes, they arrived in a one-way street. The neighborhood wasn’t pleasant to the eyes. Every house had sort of a spray-painted drawing, but these weren’t the good ones, you could see they were made by theft gang’s. Some walls had a red cross on them, which meant they were marked; it was either they left or die. These houses were abandoned now.

As they got out of the car, Delphine felt dizzy when she took a good look around. She saw the traffic lights at the corner of the street cross section. _It was Annie,_ she thought, _she’s the shadow figure I saw last night._

“Annie, did you go out last night after your mom left?” Delphine stopped before the girl pulled out the key to the front door from her jean’s pocket.

“Yes.” She answered. “She took so long to come back and I went to the corner to see if she was already coming home. But then I got scared because it was so dark and I was afraid Theo was going to cry.”

“I can’t believe this is happening.” Cosima said in disbelief. “It’s not even our job to be here and look at us.”

“Maybe this is all happening for a reason, you know?” Delphine started. “About the talks we’ve been having about all of those things… Maybe it’s destiny.”

“You know I don’t believe in this stuff.”

The brunette answered, but she wasn’t completely sure in this case.

Delphine gave up. She wouldn’t push Cosima to talk about it again. This was the kind of subject that made her uncomfortable to talk about, especially when Cosima already had her mind made up about. She let it all go and followed Annie, Art and Cosima inside.

Cosima, on the other hand, couldn’t stop thinking about what Delphine had just said. _Was it all really destiny or just sad coincidence?_

 

Annie opened the door and put the key in a little cardboard box on a table next to the door. It was the living room, the smallest it could be. There was a sofa that you could tell was new and a rug with some strips on it on the floor. On the left, there was the kitchen; right, a narrow hall that led to two bedrooms and a tiny bathroom at the end of it. While Art went to the kitchen, Cosima and Delphine followed Annie to a small room, with a bed and a crib. The bars of the crib were set lower, but not enough for a baby to fall.

“He’s still sleeping.” Annie said, not taking her eyes off the tiny baby in front of her.

“This is where you sleep?” Cosima asked the girl, pointing to the bed.

“Yes. It’s not bad, he doesn’t cry much at night.”

“How old is he?” Delphine asked.

The blonde wanted to take the baby in her arms to protect him from whoever did _that_ to his mother.

“He was born in January 10th, so…” The girl seemed to do the math in her head. “He’s six months old?” it was more of a question.

“You’re right. He’s six months old.” Cosima rested her hand on Annie’s shoulder and smiled at the girl. “You’re such a great big sister, you know that? You took care of your baby brother and you’re only five. You did amazing, sweetie.”

“I did?”

“Yes! Look at how peacefully he’s sleeping.” Cosima said in a whisper, trying to not wake the baby up. “It’s because you kept him safe.”

“I love him.” The girl said.

Annie kept smiling at him and gently touched his hand. He seemed to recognize her sister’s touch as his lips moved quickly into a smile. At that moment, when her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest and explode, Cosima _knew_ it was destiny. Now she believed it.

“No signs of invasions, no blood, nothing.” Art entered the room and watched the scene. It was perfectly visible that seeing Annie with Theo shook him up a little.

“What do we do now?” Delphine crossed her right arm in front of her body and rested her left elbow on it.

“Hey, Annie. Come here.” Art whispered to the girl, who took three steps before standing in front of the man. He sat on the floor. “I have some sad news for you. Come on, sit in your bed.”

Annie climbed up in her bad and sat, legs crossed, with her hands entwined on her lap. Cosima and Delphine sat on each side of the girl. She stared deeply at Art waiting for him to say something.

“Remember when you said your mom didn’t come home last night?” he asked and she nodded her head yes. “Well, your mom is no longer with us. She passed away last night.”

The girl had no reaction. She kept staring at the man, waiting for more info. Cosima and Delphine watched the scene with broken hearts. Cosima looked at Delphine and the blonde was crying. She tried to dry her tears as quickly as possible, but Cosima saw. _She knew_ how this would affect her.

“She died?” It was the only thing that came out of the girl’s mouth. “How?”

“We don’t know yet. These ladies sitting beside you are trying their very best to help us find out what happened to her.”

“It means I’ll never see her again?” Now Annie was crying.

It wasn’t a cry which you just let tears stream down your face. She was crying like someone had just hurt her, physically, so bad. You could feel that her crying came from deep inside her chest. The type of crying where you try to breath but you can’t because you’re so hurt your lungs collapse. The one that gives you hiccups.

Cosima and Delphine hugged the girl at the same time. Art didn’t know what to do, so he just caressed the girl’s knee. She wasn’t crying loud, you could barely hear her, but somehow it woke Theo up. Delphine let go of Annie and gave her a kiss on top of her head.

“I got him.” She whispered and got up.

The baby wasn’t crying much, but he was definitely awake. Delphine let out a smile that quickly turned into a sad one. This six-months-years-old baby was now an orphan. They had no idea if they lived with their father or even if they had one, if there were any relatives alive. They knew nothing.

“Hey, little boy.” Delphine bent down and took the baby in her arms. “That’s okay, you’re okay.”

She tried to calm the baby down and quickly as a blink, he stopped crying. Cosima watched the scene and her heart fulfilled with happiness and love. It was the most beautiful moment she had ever witnessed.

 

“You’re okay.” Cosima said to the girl as she calmed down.

Annie’s face was wet and her eyes and nose were red. She grabbed her teddy bear from the corner of her bed and held it in her arms.

“Can I ask you something?” Annie said, not actually directing the question to anyone. She kept her head down, plucking some loose yarn from the stuffed animal. “Is my mom with my grandma now? My mom told me a story about how God loved my grandma because she was a nice lady, and then he took her away to a beautiful place.” She said between hiccups. “Is my mom with her now?”

“Yes, sweetheart.” Delphine sat down again with Theo in her arms. “She is.”

“Okay.” She sniffed. “We’ll be fine, right? At least we’re together.” She held Theo’s little hand and caressed it. 

“Yes, you will. And I promise no one will ever separate the two of you.” Cosima said.

She knew she couldn’t keep that secret because she didn’t know what was going to happen with them, but it felt right at the moment.

“Annie, do you know about someone we can call?”

“No.” She said. “I don’t know where my father is and I don’t have an uncle or an aunt. It was just me, Theo and my mom.”

Art held his head between his hands. Cosima was concerned. They had no family, at all. If they do, they’re all in Colombia. They were kids and all alone in Toronto.

Art got up and got closer to the door. Cosima looked up and got up to talk to him.

“What now?”

“Now we call Children's Services.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some people would say it's a rushed decision...but, is it really? Also, you get a little bit more of Delphine's backstory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like this chapter and the next 2 ones are my favorites so far. so, yeah, enjoy!

Flashbacks of her own childhood hit Delphine as she saw Annie crying lightly in her bed, being comforted by Art and Cosima. Her first instinct was to call her sister, but it hit her that it wasn’t them in that situation _anymore_ and they’re fine now. The image of the kids being taken to an orphanage broke Delphine because she knew how much it hurt. She looked over at Cosima to see the sad expression in her face. And, just like that, Delphine knew the woman was just as broken as she was.

“Art, do we really need to?” Cosima had sat back on the bed again with Annie. She was trying to distract the girl by playing with her teddy bear and telling her stories with happy endings. As soon as she spoke to Art, her voice was weak. “Can’t we wait a little bit? A few days?”

“And who is going to take care of them?”

Cosima looked up at Delphine and her eyes immediately met with the blonde’s. Cosima knew Delphine well enough to know the blonde was devastated and wanted to do something about it. They have had talks about this. Both of them wanted it. Delphine nodded her head yes lightly with a smile. It was going to be challenging, but they couldn’t let them go and just hope for the best; hope they get a nice family. They need to be certain of what’s going to happen with them. For Delphine, it was all so close to home – one she didn’t want to go back to.

“We will.” Delphine answered, almost in a whisper. “We will take care of them.”

Art’s face went blank. He stared at the woman for a moment before opening his mouth to let out words that wouldn’t come out. Speechless. It was a rushed and underthought decision in the man’s mind, but, deep inside, he felt relieved. He knew how the system worked and how hard the process is. At least they would have a loving and warm home to go to.

For now.

“Are you _sure_ about this?” Art asked and they nodded. “We can call them on Monday then.”

“Ok.” Cosima sighed, a rush of relief running through her body. She was happy; her heart beat was rushed like if she had run a marathon. “I’m going to pack their things.”

She stood up and gave Delphine a kiss. The blonde smiled, her eyes filled with tears. Cosima knew how happy her loved one was to save them from that experience, _for now at least._

Art was worried. He was breaking the protocol and he knew it. Most of the times he wouldn’t get so attached like this, but this one was the hardest to stay away from and he had seen a lot of them.

Delphine and Cosima were not married yet, but it didn’t mean that the blonde didn’t want to. They have had talks about it, but it didn’t make sense to them since they already live together and have built a life as a couple. It wasn’t a piece of paper that should decide that for them. They’re a family and that’s all that matters.

 

Art went out to make some phone calls while Delphine fed Theo a bottle of milk. The boy kept staring at her with his wide-open hazel, almost green, eyes while Delphine made silly faces and called him cute names in French.

“Where are we going?” Annie watched Cosima putting her clothes in a purple backpack.

“Well” Cosima started. “You and Theo are coming home with us. I’m packing both of your things.”

“Oh, ok.”

Anyone could see that the girl was still in shock. She didn’t have any expression or demonstrated any sign of emotion beside sadness.

“Do you want to help me pack? You can show me where Theo’s diapers and bottles are.”

“Ok.” She said with a little more enthusiasm now. “Well, his diapers are under his crib because” she stood on her tiptoes and made a shell shape with both of her hands around her mouth “he likes to poop.” she whispered.

Delphine chuckled, causing Theo to smile at her between chugs on his bottle.

“Then we’re going to need a lot of them, right?”

“Right. I will go grab his bottles.”

She ran out the room and Delphine got up, putting him on her shoulder so he could burp. Delphine got close to Cosima and gave her a kiss on her cheek. Cosima turned to face her in a jump and smiled. Her eyes immediately went to the baby in her lover’s arms. Delphine turned to her side so Cosima could see Theo’s face. The brunette’s face lighted up when Theo smiled at her and she hadn’t noticed she had been smiling this whole time until her cheeks started to hurt.

“He likes you.” Delphine said as Cosima caressed his back.

“I’m not good with babies, like, at all. You know that.”

“You’re just _scared_ of them. Do you want to hold him?”

“Have you not paid attention to a word I just said?”

“It’s okay. Come on.”

“I can’t.” Cosima took a step back. “What if he falls or starts crying?”

“He won’t fall. He already has enough control to keep his body erect so you won’t hurt him because he’s not that fragile anymore. And if he starts crying you will know what to do.”

“Handle him to you. Yes, this I know.”

“Stop it.” Delphine laughed and tried to hand Theo to Cosima. The woman felt so scared she almost couldn’t feel her legs.

“No, I can’t do it! I don’t want to hurt you.” Cosima said to Theo, tilting her head a little to the said, in a child’s voice. _She’s so damn cute,_ Delphine thought. “I don’t want to hurt you, baby.”

“You won’t hurt him, I promise. Ok, ready?” Delphine handed the baby to Cosima and she could swear there was no blood rushing to her arms. “See? Everything is alright.”

“Hey, little bud.” Cosima started talking to Theo, who gave her a big smile.

“I told you he likes you” Delphine answered but didn’t get an answer. Cosima was too wrapped up with the baby. “I’ll help Annie grab the rest of the things.”

Delphine started walking out towards the hall, but she stopped when she heard Cosima talking to Theo.

“Hey, baby. Hi…” She started. Her voice was the softest it could be. “You’re going to be fine, okay? We will take care of you and your sister. My _wife_ is so good with tiny humans like you. I, on the other hand, am scared to death to just hold you right now, but I will do my best. I swear.”

Delphine smiled and went to the kitchen to find Annie on top of a chair with two empty bottles on her arms.

***

Art pulled over in front of their house. The man took them back to the precinct so they could take their things back from their lab, sign some papers and bring their car back. He stared at the wheel for a minute before he got out of the car. Cosima tapped on his shoulder, making him face her.

“Thank you for doing this.”

“Yeah, no problem. But, I have to ask one more time: are you sure about this?” He asked.

It was visible that he was worried. Not about police protocol or anything job related, but with them emotionally.

“You both will get attached and it will hurt when you have to say goodbye.”

“We know.” Delphine got out from the car. “But we will take the risk. It’ll be worth it.”

“Ok then.” Art answered. “I’ll help you get settled.”

 

 

Once everything was already in place, Art talked about some things with Delphine about the house, Elena’s documents and her family before he left. They would need to go in on Monday and take the kids with them so Art could call Children's Services in the morning.

The blonde waved Art goodbye from the giant front living room window. She turned back and saw Cosima sitting on the floor and all the cushions from the sofa making a fort around Theo, who was playing with his toys on the floor.

“Just in case he rolls over.” Cosima explained. Delphine gave her a bright smile. “What? You can’t be too careful with babies.”

“You’re good at this, you have the instincts. But he can probably sit on his own right now.”

“Yeah, about the ‘you’re good at this’ thing, I’m not really sure about that. I mean, I didn’t even know he could sit! I was afraid he was going to fall.”

“If he’s already on the floor, how could he fall on it?” Delphine sat on the floor right beside Cosima.

“I don’t know! Babies are unpredictable!”

“You are unbelievable.” Delphine let out a chuckle and gave Cosima a quick kiss on the lips.

“It’s true.” They heard Anne saying as she walked in the living room. “He can sit on his own. But I do that too, with the cushions.”

“See?” Cosima said to Delphine, jokingly, trying to prove a point.

“Yeah, I see.”

Delphine answered with a genuine smile on her face as Cosima opened her arms to welcome Annie into a warm hug. The girl sat between her legs and started playing with Theo.

The blonde definitely saw it.

She saw how much Cosima and Annie were alike. Both of them had the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. How they were caring and the silliness; they looked like family. Not physically speaking, but their personalities were just the same. Delphine saw how happy Cosima was whenever she was around kids, even though she claimed to not be good with them at all, but she was. The maturity. Annie was a five-year-old kid and she already knew so much about taking care of her little brother, things Delphine wished she had known twenty years ago when it was her. Delphine saw how Cosima’s mood changed when they took two kids home. The blonde’s heart was fulfilled with love. It was like a scene from your favorite movie, the one that brings you so much joy as you watch it. Delphine watched Cosima with the kids and she felt that tingly feeling, the same when you watch that scene. She was sure this is what she wanted for her life – to live in that moment forever.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're all together. Annie is okay, but... not totally. There's also domestic cophine and guys... I regret nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> past event in italics.
> 
> if there's any grammar errors or typos, let me know so I can fix them!

Saturday was grocery shopping day for Cosima and Delphine since they didn’t have a lot of time to do so during the week. Delphine usually would wake up earlier and make them breakfast; they would eat while reading the news or just watching the people go by on the street. Then, after changing clothes, they’d leave the house and bring back a lot of bags from Whole Foods. Usually it would be great and calming, but now it was just crazy.

Last night, when they all went to bed, Cosima and Delphine had to make sure that they brought their mattress to the living room and make the sofa into a double bed so Annie and Theo could sleep. It was big enough to fit Cosima and Delphine even when it was just a couch, not a couch-bed, so they'd be fine. The mattress was settled right next to the couch, its side pressed against the front. With cushions put around Theo, to prevent him from falling, the boy didn’t have any trouble sleeping – he slept the entire night, didn’t cry once – but Annie, on the other hand, was scared to even close her eyes.

_“Annie, you have to try. We’ll be right here if you need us.” Cosima had been trying to make the girl sleep for forty-five minutes now._

_All the lights in the house were on except the living room, where the lamp was turned on. Delphine had put Theo down easily. The boy was calm when he fell asleep. Delphine likes to believe that the trick to it was to give him a bath right before his bottle. When she went to bath herself, she took him with her. It was weird at first, but then she quickly got used to the feeling of having a baby in your arms while you’re naked. He was slippery due to the soap, but his serene face while the hot water fell on his back was priceless. After that, she gave him his bottle and he was down in a matter of minutes._

_“I can’t.” she answered almost in a cry. “I’m scared”._

_“You have nothing to be scared of, honey. I swear.” Cosima stared at Annie sadly. She didn’t know what else to do. “Where’s Sully?”_

_“He’s in my backpack.”_

_“Right, I’ll go grab him for you, ok? This way he will protect you.” Cosima got up. Annie nodded her head, pulling up the sheets to her chin as she lied down again._

_“There you go.” Cosima handed the girl the stuffed animal. “Now he will protect you from anything. You don’t have to be scared anymore.”_

_“Ok.” she didn’t seem convinced. Annie closed her eyes and fell asleep._

_At least that’s what it seemed._

_Twenty minutes later the girl was sitting on the couch, holding her teddy bear and holding back tears. She missed her mother, of course. It wasn’t her bed she was sleeping on; her mother hadn’t come to kiss her goodnight. The last image of her mother she had in mind kept appearing to her in dreams – the woman dressed in black pants and white t-shirt, putting her hair up in a bun, saying she loved them both and that she would be back before the girl noticed._

_But Elena never came back._

_Elena wouldn’t kiss them before they went to bed or get mad at Annie when she didn’t hang up her wet towel on the window after shower. Her mother wouldn’t cry or take a million photos of Annie’s first day in kindergarten. Annie wouldn’t hear her mother saying how proud she was of her when she graduates or would ground her and her brother for fighting over who would do the dishes._

_Annie was too young to understand all of that, but she felt the absence of her mother and it made her feel alone. She felt scared because she had nobody. Thinking that her mother was with her grandmother now was comforting, in a way. The girl didn’t quite understand what it meant, but she knew she didn’t need to be afraid of it._

_A hiccup escaped from Annie’s lips and that’s when she realized she was crying silently. Cosima woke up in a scare, put her glasses back on and saw the girl with her wet face, from the poor lightning coming from the lamp in the corner of the room, holding the last gift her mother gave her so tight Cosima thought she was in pain._

_In a way, she was._

_When Annie realized that Cosima was awake she tried to maintain a straight face, but it didn’t work. The woman had already noticed she was crying._

_“Hey, bub.” Cosima tried to make rough movements in regards to Delphine sleeping next to her. “What’s going on?”_

_“I miss my mom. I want my mom.” she said between hiccups in a whisper. She covered her eyes almost like she didn’t want Cosima to see her crying. “Bring her back, please.”_

_The sound of Cosima’s heart breaking could be heard from miles._

_“Come here.” Cosima tapped down on the mattress between her and Delphine._

_The girl hesitated for a second. She looked down at the space between the women and at Cosima again._

_“It’s ok. There’s enough room for all the three of us, she won’t mind.”_

_“Are you sure?”_

_“Yes, I’m sure. Come on.”_

_The girl laid between them, staring at Cosima’s face. The woman brought her hand to caress the girl’s cheeks and her hair, trying to calm her down._

_“I can’t bring your mother back and I wish I could, but I can try to make you feel better. You just have to trust me. Do you trust me?” Cosima said and she was the one holding back tears now. Annie nodded. “I promise you everything is going to be just fine. You’re not alone, ok?”_

_“Ok.” the girl smiled and brought her hand to rest it on top of Cosima’s._

_“Ok, let’s try to get some sleep.” Cosima kissed Annie’s forehead. The girl held her teddy bear tighter and closed her eyes, curling up in Cosima's embrace._

_Cosima could feel her heartbeat slowing down and her breathing getting back to normal, almost too slow. And then, just like that, Annie fell asleep in Cosima’s arms._

_***_

“Ok, we need to get some food, like, baby food.” Cosima said as she took the plates off the table and put them on the sink.

“Cosima, there are vegetables in the fridge drawer. We can make some purée with the carrots, potatoes, kale, broccoli…”

“You’re making him eat _broccoli and kale?_ That’s disgusting. You’re mean.”

“What do you want me to feed him, waffles and maple syrup?” Delphine raised her eyebrows and giggled. She sat the baby on the counter and held him so he wouldn’t move and fall.

“No! But, like, strawberries. Or, I don’t know, we can put mac & cheese in the blender and make a mac & cheese purée.”

“Ok, now _that_ is gross. And not even a little bit healthy.”

“I am kidding! What do you think I am, a monster?”

“He likes vegetables.” Annie was sitting in the high chair on the counter, finishing her pancakes and laughing. “My mom used to cook squash, carrots and broccoli and blend it all together in the blender and give it to him. He eats like a whole cup.”

“And what about you, young lady?” Cosima bent down on the counter. “What do you like to eat?”

“I like pizza! And french fries.” she yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. “And tacos! I could eat them for breakfast.”

“Me too! She won’t let me eat leftover pizza, did you know that?” Cosima stuck her tongue out for Delphine and the blonde gave her a reprehensible look.

“My mom, too! She said it wasn’t healthy, that I could eat them for lunch if I still wanted them.”

“Your mom was a good mother, Annie.” Delphine said. “Tell us more about her.”

That’s how they spent thirty minutes talking about how Elena took care of them and how loveable she was.

Delphine read once that if you make a child talk about their passed parents, it would help them cope with the loss and keep the memory alive. God knows how Delphine could’ve used that tip with her sister and how bad she felt when she realized her mother and father’s voices were fading away after a year they had passed. Their faces weren’t vivid anymore, they were blurry. She couldn’t see them as easily as she did before. The three photos she was able to keep weren’t enough anymore because this is how she remembered them now. Static, sitting in a red towel in a park in Marseille; her mother holding her, her father holding her sister Louise and a stranger taking the photo.

Delphine and Louise got adopted after spending three months in an orphanage. They were lucky enough to be adopted together and to end up in a family full of love. She was so grateful for them. By now the blonde couldn’t remember much of what happened before the orphanage, but she was glad that her adoptive parents made everything they could to bring them peace and love again.

***

Since they didn’t have a car seat, Cosima rode in the back seat holding Theo in her arms while Annie sat right next to her as Delphine drove the car. The ride to the supermarket wasn’t that long, but enough to make the baby fall asleep.

Annie walked slowly, holding hands with Cosima while Delphine pushed the cart with Theo on the baby seat through the halls.

“Ok, we need to get some fruits, bread, cheese, juice, meat for the meatballs and some snacks.” Cosima held a list on her hands.

“What are we making for dinner tonight? We need to buy the ingredients for that, too.”

“I don’t know. What do you think, Annie?”

“Well…” The girl said. “Mac and cheese with chicken nuggets?”

“Only if you eat the carrots.” The blonde said.

“I don’t like carrots.” The girl was stubborn. “Can I eat broccoli instead?”

“Deal. High five.” Delphine held her hand out and Annie hit it with her palm. “Let’s get some chicken nuggets, then.”

The cart was filled with food for the next week and some snacks for Annie. The girl didn’t ask for anything, she was as quiet as a mouse and even shy sometimes. Cosima thought she was afraid to ask for something or didn’t want to bother to do it, so she went and grabbed a frozen pizza and some candy for the girl.

Annie never asked for anything. She came to the precinct to try to find her mother, but she didn’t find her. The only thing she’s been asking for is to bring her mother back and that hurt Cosima on so many levels. She was the humblest and sweetest kid she had ever met and Cosima wished she could bring Elena back or at least know what really happened to her.

 ***

Shopping day usually was always calm and relaxing, but shopping with two kids were insane. Theo started crying when they were paying and nothing seemed to calm the boy down. When they were putting the bags in the trunk, something came up to Cosima’s mind.

“Hey, babe, I’m going back to get some water, ok?”

She went back to the market, grabbed a bottle of water and came back in a hurry. She opened the glove compartment and took out the pacifier she had found two nights before. Delphine had already put everything in the trunk, Annie was sitting in the backseat putting her seat belt on while Delphine tried to make Theo stop crying, but everything seemed to annoy him.

“What are you doing?” Delphine asked when she saw Cosima throwing water on the pacifier, rubbing it like if she wanted to take a stain out of a blouse.

“You found it!” Annie said with enthusiasm when she realized what Cosima was holding. “I lost it at night when I went looking for my mom. I tried to go to the police station and I was holding his pacifier but I don’t know what happened that I lost it.”

“The night I said I saw you?” Annie nod in response to the blonde. “You said you went to the corner and then came back to your house.”

“I tried to run to the police station but I was too afraid because it was dark. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that. I was afraid you would be mad at me for leaving Theo alone in the dark.”

“Hey, it’s okay. Both of you are safe now and that’s all that matters.” Cosima had just finished cleaning the pacifier when she got closer to them.

“I just left him alone that night and when I went there and found you, I swear.” She was holding back tears and she was trying so hard to not let them out, but eventually she did.

The blame was eating her alive. It was clear that she felt guilty about leaving her baby brother alone in the house, but she didn’t have much of a choice. If she hadn’t, they’d probably still be at the house waiting for their mother to come back. How can a 5-year-old carry so much responsibility and feel for it?

"Don't worry about it, ok? Let’s just go home before it’s dinner time." Cosima offered Theo the pacifier, who took it in his mouth and immediately stopped crying.

***

As Annie had asked earlier, Cosima made mac & cheese with chicken nuggets for lunch. They got home from the supermarket and Delphine made the sofa again and put Theo down, since he had fallen asleep on their way back. It was barely 1PM when Cosima and Delphine had already finished doing the dishes and Annie was sitting on the floor, legs crossed, her back pressed against the sofa, watching some cartoon on tv. The couple watched Theo's slow breathing and the girl, who didn't move a muscle, quietly from a distance.

"I wanted to talk to you about _that_." Delphine broke the silence between them.

"Delphine..."

"I know. I know. But we've talked before and we're ready, babe."

Cosima stopped for a second and thought about every time they had sat down and talked about this and it came to her that Delphine was right. They're ready. They both want it. It would be a tough road and rejection would be worst-case scenario, but they're ready.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"I've never been surer about anything in my life." the blonde replied.

"It's settled then. We're doing it."

Delphine opened a huge smile and stared at her girlfriend in an amazed state. She gave her a hug and a soft kiss on the lips.

"I love you."

"I love you, too"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know some questions might pop up in your heads as you read it, but I'll answer to all of them (or try to) throughout the chapters. I know that Annie, a 5 year old child, running out alone, in the dark may sound crazy and impossible to happen, but I speak from my own experience with my little brother, so yeah. Your feedback really helps me to notice some things that might have passed unnoticed, so let me know what your thoughts are! Thank you for reading and if you want to say hey, you can find me on twitter at @tatxmasIany :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the kids' last day before they have to leave. Decisions are made and also lots of fluffy, domestic cophine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a song in this chapter and it's called I Know A Place by MUNA (if any of you happen to also be a Carmilla stan you probably already heard it) and, I don't know, maybe check it out because it's really good and cute!!

The gray sky indicated that Cosima and Delphine wouldn’t be able to take Theo and Annie to the park anytime soon like they had planned the day before. It was a beautiful Sunday morning just a few hours ago, but now they were stuck with board games, popcorn and a lot of kids’ movies.

The clock had turned into their worst enemy the past two days. Cosima kept looking at it, wishing the hours could freeze. She didn’t want to call Child Services the next day. She didn’t want to break Annie’s heart even more.

Delphine came down the stairs to the kitchen to find Cosima teaching Annie how to play chess.

“And now you can move the knight in a ‘L’ shape, like this” she moved the piece as Annie watched carefully. “This way, your knight captures my pawn. And now you keep it on your side of the board.”

“I think I get it, but it’s too hard” Annie facial expression showed that the girl tried to understand what the woman had just said, but it was clear that she didn’t.

“It’s okay! We can try another one if you want to. Delphine has a lot of them”

“Yes, please?”

“Ok, let’s put it all together and put it back in the closet.”

They picked up the pieces and put it back where Cosima had taken it out from. She didn’t notice Delphine standing there watching them until she turned her back.

“Hey, I didn’t see you there.”

“I’m a quiet person” she said with a chuckle.

“Not really…” Cosima raised her eyebrows, which made Delphine gasp.

“Cosima! Kid in the room” she pointed out to Annie, who was now playing with the remote while she watched Pinky Dinky Doo on tv.

“She’s not paying attention” Cosima started to nibble on Delphine’s neck. The blonde felt the urging feeling growing on her stomach and close her eyes tightly.

“Wait until she’s, at least, asleep. I promise I’ll reward you later” Delphine kissed Cosima quickly on the lips. “We need to talk to her about what’s happening tomorrow.”

“Do you think it’s a good idea?” Cosima asked, worried.

“Yes.” she replied. “I know it would’ve been great if someone had warned me about what was coming back then.”

“Ok then.” Cosima nodded and took a deep sigh. “I don’t know if I can tell her.”

“We’ll do it together, ok?”

Cosima nodded in reply. Delphine sighed deeply and then walked towards Annie. The girl suddenly let out a loud laugh at the TV and turned around to face them like if she was showing them how funny the cartoon was. Cosima stopped Delphine by grabbing her arm gently.

“Does it have to be now, though?”

Delphine stared at the girl for a moment before letting out a small smile.

“It can wait a little bit.”

“I thought so.” Cosima smiled at her and went to sat by the girl.

It would be a very short day.

***

The sound of popcorn kernel’s being popped made Annie’s stomach growl. Delphine had learned to make it when she was still little when her - adoptive – mother couldn’t make it for Delphine and her sister to eat as a snack due to her schedule at work.

The blonde poured the popcorn into a bowl and added some salt before taking it to Cosima, who was already sitting on the giant mattress in front of the TV, with Annie sitting beside her and Theo sitting between Cosima’s legs, laying his back on Cosima’s front.

“I am _so_ hungry I could eat a whole cow!” Annie screamed and grabbed a handful of popcorn.

“That is a lot of meat!” Delphine replied from the kitchen.

“I know! That is how hungry I am. Aren’t you coming? Cosima is about to press play.”

“I am, sweetheart. I’m just getting us some juice, ok? Tell Cosima she can press play if you want.” Delphine took two cups from the cabinet and poured some orange juice on it; same with a plastic bottle, spilling-free, for Annie and a bottle of tea for Theo. “I won’t miss out on anything.”

“Yes, you will! The colorful doors and the big snake going through them! Hurry up, we’re waiting for you.”

“And I’m here.” Delphine said as she sat on the other side of the mattress and put the glasses on the floor. She handed Annie her bottle and Cosima Theo’s bottle of tea.

Annie was now sitting between the two women. Cosima pressed play and Annie’s gaze was stuck on the TV. Theo’s hands were jazzing along the childish song coming from the movie. Annie hummed along to all the notes from the whole song.

“You really like this movie, huh?” Cosima asked.

“I do! I know it all by heart.” Annie replied still looking at the television. “ _Hey! Good morning, Monstropolis! It’s now five after the hour of 6AM…_ ” Annie quoted along with Monsters Inc, with such a huge smile that made Delphine’s heart get warmer and fill with so much love that she didn’t know that fit.

She turned her head to the side to see Cosima playing with Theo’s hands and Annie smiling as she kept quoting all the lines with Sully and Mike.

_It fit three whole lives._

***

Outside the window there were only a black blur and a light breeze whisper of that windy and cold night. Dogs were barking in a distance and the sound of water splashing could be heard coming from the bathroom where Delphine was bathing Theo for the last time.

It was way past their bed time (that Delphine had gently set to 8PM after Cosima tried to make it 9PM) and Cosima were still brushing Annie’s wet and tangled hair. The girl was eating sliced apples from a little bowl. Suddenly the water sound disappeared and in a matter of seconds Delphine came in and put Theo on the bed, wrapped in a towel too big for his little body. Cosima noticed how slowly Delphine moved when dressing Theo and she knew why. They didn’t want to tell her.

Theo was sitting on their bed, chewing on his pacifier, when he tried to get an apple slice from Annie’s bowl.

“You can’t eat it like this” Annie grabbed a slice and took a little piece, almost too little for her to even hold, and put it in his mouth. “There you go”

Theo didn’t have any teeth yet, but she knew he could chew that little piece with his gum and wouldn’t hurt the baby.

Delphine hang the towel on the door and came back to the room. The freezing cold feeling in her stomach wouldn’t disappear. She reached for Cosima’s hands and they were cold as ice, too. Both of them took a deep breath. The blonde sat on the bed right behind Theo, preventing him from falling from the bed.

“Annie, we need to have a little talk, is that ok?” Cosima said and took the girl’s attention from her apple.

“Sure.” She didn’t seem excited or surprised. Maybe, in her mind, Cosima was only talking to her about what they were going to do the next day or anything like that.

The only light in the room came from the lamp on the bed stand and it was pretty cozy. Theo had laid down and his eyes were closing heavily, so Delphine caressed the boy’s tummy until he was too sleepy to even move.

“Tomorrow is not going to be a nice day. You and your brother are going to a new home for a while.”

“But _you_ are nice to me and my brother. I trust you.” she replied, pointing to each one of the women.

“I promise you both of you will be fine, ok? We will talk to each other every day if you want to. But, for now, you need to go there while we try to find out what happened to your mommy.” Cosima tried not to cry but her voice cracked.

As soon as she realized it, she saw Annie’s facial expression turn into a pool of sadness and concern. Delphine looked at Cosima with pity. They both knew it wouldn’t be easy when the time would come.

“I know the lady who’s going to take care of you and I can promise you she’s a really nice girl and she will be really nice. I will tell her that you like your apples sliced and Theo likes to take orange juice with his squash and broccoli purée.” The blonde said.

“And no matter what, you can always ask them to talk to us.” Cosima was holding Annie in a hug and Delphine had her hand resting on the girl’s knee.

“I’m afraid.” The little girl said, causing Delphine’s expression to drop drastically.

“You don’t have to, I promise.” She answered. “What do you think of coming to live with us? With me and Cosima? Would you like it?”

“But what about my mom? She will be mad at me.” Her voice cracked as she looked down to her lap.

“She won’t be mad at you, I swear. She’ll be happy that we’ll take care of you.” Delphine said smoothly, trying to not make the girl cry again. The whole situation was hard enough already.

Almost instantly, the girl gave Delphine a huge smile and got up from Cosima’s lap.

“Yes, it would be nice. I guess so. Can we?”

“We’ll talk to the lady who’s coming tomorrow to take you to your new temporary home to decide it, ok? But, for now, you both need to go. Just for a little while.” Delphine’s face was red as a beet and her eyes were swollen. She couldn’t keep it in anymore, she couldn’t hold back the tears for not even one second.

“Ok.” She said lightly. “Why are you crying?” she looked at Delphine and then at Cosima, who was now in tears herself. “Why are _you_ crying?”

“Nothing, honey. It’s… We’re going to miss you both so much.” Cosima replied, drying her own cheek with a big smile.

“Me too. But I miss my mom, too. I wish she could come pick me and Theo up.” Annie replied and it hit Cosima and Delphine like a sharp knife.

 

Theo had fallen asleep and Delphine was laying by his side when Annie laid down next to the baby, holding his hand.

“You’re sleeping so you don’t know, but we’re going to a new home tomorrow and we’ll be fine, just like they promised. Ok?”

Cosima laid next to Annie and kissed her head, holding the girl close. You could see Annie’s little smile when she felt Cosima’s embrace and the girl’s eyes closing in an attempt to go to sleep. Delphine was on one side of the bed and then there were Theo, Annie and Cosima on the other side, almost like they were making a barrier around the two kids. Delphine reached out for Cosima’s hand and she grabbed it, entwining their fingers.

“We’ll be fine.” The blonde said. “All of us.”

“I know.” Cosima whispered and smiled.

 ***

The fume coming from Delphine’s hot chocolate mug where the only thing distracting her from her thoughts. The woman was curled up in the sofa, with a blanket covering half of her body. They had taken the mattress upstairs again since there were enough room for all of them. Annie had gotten used to sleep curled up in Cosima’s embrace, so there was enough space for Delphine and Theo.

For a moment she had forgotten about the kids leaving tomorrow. She’s had that experience before and it wasn’t great, but in the end it all turned out fine. Why was she afraid to let them go, then? When she said to Art that they were going to take care of them three days ago she _knew_ this would happen, she knew it was going to hurt to let them go and to know that Annie, at such little age, would have to deal with this situation. Theo was a baby and didn’t understand anything about the world yet, but Annie could _feel_ everything. Of course, the baby was crying a lot lately, missing the warmth of his mother’s skin, but nothing that couldn’t be controlled. Annie was feeling for both of them and it was clear to see. The sadness they had seen on her face when they told her her mother had died was still there. When they were distracted watching tv or playing some game her face lighted up, but just a little. She was scared the whole time and Delphine wished she could do something. Annie was just a kid, feeling the loss for two. She had just lost her mother and didn’t have anyone else.

Her mother.

They didn’t have a single clue of what had happened to Elena that night. Delphine was sure they were going to find something soon, but they needed it now. Figure out and closing the case was crucial for everything they’ll have to go through with the kids’ adoption.

_They’re adopting them._

It seemed surreal at first, but now it just felt kind of normal. Delphine had gotten used to see Annie’s face in the morning and Theo smile every time she said “ _mon bebé_ ” to him. Not for a second she thought it would be too rushed. There was only one thing she was certain in her life: she loved Cosima and she’s the only one she wants to spend the rest of her life with. Starting a family with her was something they have been talking for months and now it seemed right. It was destiny, Cosima believed it or not. And after that evening, when they were all curled up in each other’s arms watching Monsters Inc, she was _sure_ that this is what her family was meant to be.

The only thing keeping her from having a breakdown right now was the fact that she knew she was going to get them back. Soon.

A sound coming from the stairs took Delphine out of her own mind. She looked behind her and saw Annie, with a busted face, trying to walk down the stairs silently.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“When I left the room, you seemed asleep.”

“Nope, just had my eyes closed.”

“You want some?” Delphine offered the girl some of her hot chocolate and the girl nodded her head yes. “Come here.”

“Cosima fell asleep holding Theo’s hand. It’s cute.” Annie kept whispering and Delphine smiled at her. The girl got under the blanket too and blew in the mug before she took a sip of the hot, sweet liquid.

“I bet it is.” The woman replied. “Why are you awake? It is _way_ past your bedtime.”

“I couldn’t sleep because I’m afraid.” Her voice got weaker. “I don’t want to go this new home. I want to stay here with you and Cosima. I miss my mom.” And there were the tears Delphine _knew_ she had been holding back.

“Let me tell you a little story. Come here.”

Delphine put the mug down on the table and tapped on the sofa, between her crossed legs. Annie sat down on her lap and laid her head back on the woman’s chest.

“I have a sister and her name is Louise. She’s three years younger than me, so, when I was your age, she had just turned two.”

“Wow. Does she have beautiful hair like yours?” Annie asked, taking a lock of hair in her hand and twirling it in her finger. Delphine let out a laugh.

“Yes, she does. It’s even more beautiful than mine.”

“Oh, that is not possible.”

“Oh, yes, it is! Anyways...” she continued. “When I was your age I lost my mommy and my daddy, too.”

“What happened?” Annie’s voice was sad and lowered.

“A really bad guy threw a bomb in the building they worked. Louise and I were with our babysitter when it happened. Our whole family lived in France and we had no grandma, grandpa or aunts to take care of us, just like you and Theo. But you know what happened? They sent us to a new home, just like the one you and your brother are going tomorrow.”

“Were you sad?”

“Yeah, I was.” Delphine hugged the girl tight as she let the faded memories come back. “But I had to be strong for my sister. It was only she and I now. So, we went to this new home and you know what happened? A new mommy and a new daddy came to take us home. They gave us love and a happy home to live in.”

“It is a happy ending, just like in the books my mommy used read to me before I went to bed.” She replied.

“It is, right? So, I promise you that everything is going to be okay. Do you trust me?” Delphine asked and Annie nodded in response. “So, give me your pinkie.” they twirled their little fingers together. “This is a pinkie promise and it is the strongest of them all. Now, I promise you that I will never, ever, let anything bad happen to you when you’re there. And I promise we will bring you back home as soon as possible.”

“Ok, promised.” Annie said and smiled at her, but her eyes were filled with tears that wouldn’t stream down on her face.

The silence remained in the room for a few moments before Delphine heard Annie sniff.

“I don’t want to go there.” She started crying and Delphine didn’t know what else to do. She’s a child and Delphine knew it wasn’t easy to convince a kid to do something they _really_ don’t want to and even though Delphine didn’t want to either, she needed to call Children’s Services or it would be even harder to start the adoption process. “I miss my mommy. I want her back.”

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I got you”

Delphine hugged her and caressed the girl’s hair, in an attempt to calm her down. It took a while until she stopped crying but she wasn’t asleep yet, so Delphine started humming and, in an instant, started singing the lyrics she knew would help set the little girl’s heart in peace.

[I knew, when you told me you don’t want to go home tonight](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8XTModI4go)  
And you tried to just shrug it off when I asked you why  
Somebody hurt you, somebody hurt you, but you’re here, by my side

These lyrics always got Delphine because they hit too close to home and she knew it went the same way with Annie. It’s like their lives crossed for a reason. The blonde kept moving her body lightly like if she was trying to put a baby down to sleep. She knew these movements were scientifically proven to calm the kid’s body and slow her heartbeat. When she saw it was working, she gave Annie a kiss on top of her head and kept singing.

 _And I knew because I can recall when I was the one in your seat_  
I still got scars and they occasionally bleed  
Somebody hurt me, somebody hurt me, but I’m staying alive

She felt Annie’s body start to lose tension and she knew the girl was starting to fall asleep. Delphine wasn’t crying anymore because she felt the comfort in those lyrics, she felt that she had kept Annie comforted with them.

 _I know a place_  
I know a place we can go  
Where everyone is going to lay down their weapon, lay down their weapon  
Just give me trust and watch what will happen  
  
Because I know  
I know a place we can stay  
Where everyone is going to lay down their weapon, lay down their weapon  
Just give me trust and watch what will happen  
I know a place

Annie’s breathing was calm and all of her muscles were relaxed. The girl had fallen asleep in Delphine’s arms. The woman was crying. When she tried to move to take Annie upstairs, the girl held her arm in place. She didn’t want to leave, nor Delphine to leave, because she felt safe there. It was _her_ place: in the woman’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twitter is @tatxmasIany but you already know that. yeah. thank you for everyone who's reading and leaving comments! let me know what your thoughts about the chapter are and see you soooon! :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day has come and the kids have to go. Delphine and Cosima make a huge decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> grab your tissues, people, cause this one is heavy. that's all i'm gonna say.

When the first ray of sunshine hit Delphine’s face, she growled and felt a sting on her back and realized she had fallen asleep on the couch, with Annie curled up in her arms. She looked at the opposite wall to check the time; the clock read 8AM. It came to her mind it was Monday. The time had come.

She tried to get up as smoothly as possible so she wouldn’t wake up the girl. Annie shrugged a bit and Delphine covered her with the blanket and then walked towards the window to close the curtain. She went upstairs to find Cosima half dressed in jeans and her pajama’s t-shirt, with a very active baby chewing the sheets.

“Good morning, babe.” Cosima noticed Delphine coming in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “When I woke up you were gone so I went downstairs and found you and Annie. It was the cutest thing ever.”

“Yeah, she went downstairs yesterday late at night. She said you were asleep and she couldn’t get to sleep because she’s afraid to go to this ‘new home’.” The blonde replied, running her fingers through her messy morning hair in frustration.

Delphine let out a deep sigh. Her gaze met with Theo’s, who was facing her and giving her his best toothless smile.

“ _Bonjour, mon chéri”_ she picked him up from the bed and gave him a kiss on his temple. “Are you hungry? I know you are. Let’s get you something to eat.”

Cosima noticed how distracted Delphine was, how hard she was trying to set her mind somewhere else instead of the thought of leaving the kids.

“Hey.” The blonde heard Cosima call her. “Are you okay?”

She shook her head no in response. “You?”

Cosima shook her head no.

They stared at each other for a couple seconds, in complete silence, before Delphine broke the gaze to look at the baby in her arms.

“We will wait for you downstairs. Pancakes?”

“Always.”

*** 

Delphine put Theo sitting on the floor, right next to her, and started making the pancake dough. Annie was still sleeping and the blonde decided not to wake up the girl yet. She flipped the cooked dough in the pan twice, trying hard not to make a mess she knew Cosima would be mad about later before she heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

“She’s still asleep?” Cosima put her arms around Delphine’s waist and pulled her tight, kissing her neck and then resting her chin on the woman’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I didn’t want to wake her up.”

“I’m sorry.” Cosima said in a whisper. Delphine’s eyebrows frowned instantly, then she turned off the oven to face Cosima.

“What for?”

“I got too attached and now you’re hurting and don’t even try to tell me otherwise because I’m hurting too. I only wanted to help and I pushed it, even though I knew how you’d feel… You were there once and it’s too close to your heart. I didn’t think of that… So, I’m sorry.” Delphine stared at Cosima with passion, a shy smile on her lips.

“Babe, listen to me.” The blonde started. “It’s not your fault. I knew what I was getting myself into when I said we’d take care of them. I knew it was going to hurt like hell to see them go when the time came. But, I also knew that I was making the right choice then and now, choosing to start a family with all of you.”

Delphine’s hand fit Cosima’s cheek like it was molded out of her palm. She rubbed her cheek with her thumb and felt the warmth in her face. Cosima grabbed Delphine’s hand in hers and gave it a kiss before entwining their fingers together as they dropped their hands down.

“It’s not going to be easy, but it’s all going to be worth it. As long as you’re by my side.”

“I’m here, always and forever.” Cosima caressed Delphine’s cheek with her thumb before the woman turned back and dropped the pancakes on a plate. She gave Cosima a quick kiss on the corner of her mouth as Cosima felt little drooled fingers touching the hem of her jeans and her ankles.

Looking down, she saw the smiley baby giving her his biggest smile. At this point she wasn’t that scared of holding Theo anymore. In fact, she actually liked it, but never told Delphine about it even though she was certain the blonde knew how much she enjoyed taking care of that tiny happy human. Cosima bent down and took the baby in her arms, giving him a kiss on his head.

“Look! Those are pancakes.” She said to the boy in her most childish voice. “They are so yummy! Yes, they are.”

Delphine watched the scene with joy as she took the strawberry syrup from the fridge. She was about to drop it on top of all the pancakes she’d made, but Cosima stopped her.

“Annie didn’t like this one, remember? She said it was too sweet.”

“She liked the chocolate one.” They said in unison.

“But I bet this little baby will _love_ this strawberry syrup. Yeah, he will!” Cosima took a piece of a pancake with a little bit of syrup on it and offered to Theo, who open his biggest mouth and took a big bite, even though his toothless mouth didn’t let him tear a piece. The sweet taste seemed to please the baby, since he didn’t want to let go, trying to hold it with his own hands.

“Cosima! He can’t eat that yet. Do you see any teeth?” Delphine said reprehensive.

“Oh, come on, he likes it. It’s not big enough for him to choke or anything.” Cosima replied, trying to take the pancake away from the baby. “He’s trying to get it, look! _It’s because my wife makes the best pancake in the whole world.”_

“Hey, save some for me!” a raspy, sleepy voice came from the couch and suddenly, Annie was walking towards them. She got on her tiptoes as she reached the balcony and tried to grab a piece of a pancake.

“Good morning to you, too.” Delphine said, caressing her hair quickly. “Are you hungry?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Maybe? That’s new.”

“If you put chocolate syrup on these pancakes I’m going to eat them all!” she took the plate out and placed it on the table, climbing up the chair.

“We can share…” Cosima replied.

“…otherwise it’ll hurt my tummy, yes, I know.” Annie finished the sentence and rolled her eyes, making Delphine laugh.

  

The ride to the precinct was quiet. Annie kept looking out the window and Theo was sleeping with his head on his sister’s lap and his body lying on the back seat. Throughout the whole way Cosima kept thinking how it would feel to see them go. At first thought she didn’t want to even be in the same room when the Children’s Services arrive, but she knew it would be a hundred times worse for Annie if she wasn’t there with Delphine. Bringing a child into your home may be a little delicate for some people, but with them it just felt right and now she was going to lose them.

Watching them go with absolutely no power to do otherwise was worse.

Cosima almost felt her veins and her heart and her skin burning in pain.

Delphine didn’t take her eyes off the road, not even for a slightly second. Her frowned forehead and tense facial muscles showed that she was worried and probably in a bad mood. Cosima knew her well enough to know that the blonde wouldn’t even talk to her right now, so she just touched Delphine’s hand, which was on the gear shift. The movement caused her to jump, but then, when she smiled at Cosima, the brunette just caressed the top of her hand with her thumb and smiled back for a second, before looking out the window again.

“Are we there yet?” Annie’s voice was low and almost inaudible. Delphine looked at her through the review mirror and saw the sad expression painted all over her face.

“Not quite, sweetie. Almost.”

“I wish we couldn’t get there so fast.”

With a sigh, Delphine slowed down.

She did too.

***

Lines and circles and crooked lines again and crooked circles on the blank paper. A red and a green crayon.

Annie had been drawing for quite some time while Theo played with his pacifier and laughed at nothing. Both sitting on the floor of Cosima and Delphine’s room while the women discussed how things would go with Art.

“She worked at a market near and was in the middle of the process of getting her visa. She and Annie have a temporary one, Theo was born here.” Art showed them the papers with lots of words written on it but Cosima couldn’t focus her mind on what those letters altogether meant. Delphine looked at them, analyzing every and each word, trying to find something written between the lines but she couldn’t find anything.

“They can’t send her back to Colombia, can they? She has no family.” It was Delphine’s only question.

“No, they can’t, because she’s a minor and has no other connections in Colombia. The police couldn’t find her father. She will be in a fostering house until someone adopts her and her brother.”

“Good.” Cosima whispered hoping that they wouldn’t hear her, but they did.

“How is it _good_? Weren’t you the one who worried and all about her going to a foster care?” Art questioned.

“We’re adopting them.” Delphine replied, “we’re starting the process as soon as Children’s Services get here.”

Art was speechless for a moment. It wasn’t usual for him to witness situations like this one, but he was surprised. And relieved. The connection the man had with the couple was amazing and he, better than anyone, knew how much love and care they would be able to give to these kids. If he learned anything from working at this job, it was that a piece of paper or sharing the same blood doesn’t define family, love does. That’s something he’d taken as a lesson throughout the years and Cosima and Delphine were a family, period. Of course, like every other couple, they’ve had their arguments but they always make it work at the end because they’re meant to be together. Art knew how much Delphine wanted kids and how much Cosima was scared to death of them, but he also knew how Cosima lovely talked to kids whenever she saw one; her smile would grow so big and he could swear her eyes would turn to a heart shape. Art knew how much Delphine had gone through with her childhood and what an amazing parent she would be, alongside with Cosima. They were each other’s safe haven, their rocks. He couldn’t see a better family for Annie and Theo to go to.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” Delphine asked worriedly, but all she got was a smile from Art. She felt Cosima holding her tighter.

“I’m just… I-“ He had no words. He couldn’t express the joy and the love and the warmth filling his heart, his hands dancing in the air trying to express something but nothing would come out of it. “I’m happy for you, that’s all. For all of you. I mean… You know what I mean.”

Delphine reached out her hand and grabbed his, lightly squeezing it. “Thank you.”

And then the clock hit 10AM. Thirty minutes was all they had left before they come and take them away. Cosima wanted to take all the batteries out of all the clocks in the room so the time could stop but she then realized that it would be only hers. The lady’s would still work and she’d still be on her way to come and take the kids to the foster care and she wouldn’t be able to wake every morning and see Delphine making pancakes or Annie laughing because her brother was chewing on his own foot and-

_You’re getting them back, Cosima. Get your shit together._

_But how can you be so sure?_

Her mind was going a thousand miles per minute and she felt like she was going to explode.

_They’re not yours yet. Stop it._

Delphine looked at the woman hugging her so tight that she thought she might be in pain. And maybe she was because Cosima was crying and she hadn’t even noticed how hard she was squeezing Delphine and the tears running down her face until the blonde called her name out, coming from the sultry external sound that wasn’t her mind.

“Babe? Are you okay? Don’t get me wrong, I love it when you hug me, but I’m afraid you’re going to break my ribs if you squeeze me any harder.” Delphine spun out of the embrace to face Cosima.

“I’m sorry,” she replied “just thinking about the kids, that’s all.”

“Annie hasn’t mentioned her mother anymore. Not since Saturday. It’s weird. I know she didn’t forget about her and God forbid she does, but it’s weird.” Delphine said, looking at the girl who was smiling at the piece of paper while she ran the crayon all over it.

“It’s crazy to think that her mother was only at the wrong place at the wrong time. She worked at a local market, for God’s sake. She was just coming back home to her kids.”

Sure, Elena’s neighborhood wasn’t the best place in town to live in, especially with two kids, but did she have a choice? What was her life like, back in Colombia, before she came here? Her visa wasn’t even approved yet and now she was dead. It was heartbreaking to hear it. It even made Cosima’s heart feel strange, a weird feeling of how much life can be short and unpredictable.

“Did Art say anything else about it?” Cosima asked Delphine, who was now looking at the case files. She was reading something written in both bold and italic letters.

“It says here that some people who live near the crime scene witnessed a shooting at the same time, same day, exactly same location.” Delphine started, showing Cosima the highlighted words.

“ _A woman was shot and got help from some people at the location at the time. They were the ones who called the police. The shooters escaped but they hurt more people, not fatally. Just some bruises and wounds. The lady who got shot seemed to die at that exact moment, but we were only sure when the police came and declared her death.”_ Cosima followed the sentence along with Delphine, who read it out loud. It was a testament of someone at the crime scene that day, someone Art had interviewed later that Friday or Saturday morning. They wouldn’t know since they had taken the day off to be with the kids.

Footsteps coming from behind them made Cosima jump out of her own thoughts. Art touched her shoulder, causing both women to turn around and face him.

“It was a shooting.” Art said. “It wasn’t personal, no ex-husband or anything like that.”

“And what about the A+ blood we found on her clothes?” Cosima tried, even though she knew it wouldn’t have a conclusive answer. You can’t find DNA in blood.

“It’s probably from someone who tried to help her when she got shot. Some people got hurt too and she got help. Just, not enough. But, about the blood, we can’t know whose it is for sure, you know that.” Art replied what Cosima already knew.

Cosima just nodded, accepting defeat.

“Yeah. The world just sucks, doesn’t it?” Cosima said.

“It does.” Delphine whispered.

They just stood there in complete silence for quite some time. Cosima didn’t feel her feet hurting from standing and Delphine’s lower back pain disappeared. Their main focus was through that window glass, those kids sitting on the floor of their room at a police station. Where their mother’s body laid on a cold, metal table inside of a drawer, waiting to be picked up to be buried. They didn’t know that nor needed to.

Delphine felt her chest being crushed, harder as time passed, when she saw herself and her sister in that exact same position where she was drawing yellow and red and pink flowers and Louise wouldn’t stop crying. Delphine got annoyed by the sound of the loud crying baby next to her. She then started to draw not-so-beautiful-anymore flowers and yelled at her sister to be quiet for a second. The big scared eyes made Delphine apologize and kiss her on the forehead to just then pull her closer and hold her in a tight hug. She remembered saying _everything is going to be fine, I’m with you_ to her sister as they watched the police and the foster lady walking around their house. Louise stopped crying.

***

Fortunately, Theo was too young to understand why all of those people were running around them and taking his stuff away. Annie was curled up on the couch, scared to even look up, holding her folded legs up with her arms around them and her face buried on the space between her body and her legs where Sully was carefully placed.

“We’re taking them to a foster care for now. Annie will get psychological treatment for as long as she’s there.” The lady in a red dress with black blazer and annoying high heels explained how it would all work. Cosima tried to paid attention, but she couldn’t. Delphine seemed to memorize each word that came out of the woman’s mouth. “You said you were taking care of them since Friday?”

“That is correct. They were scared and fragile so we took care of them until this morning, when we called you.” Delphine answered, as polite as possible.

“Ok, so we just need to get some information about them and we’re ready to go.” She said looking down at the papers with unchecked boxes on her hand. “If you’d like to say your goodbyes… Now would be a good time.”

_Your goodbyes._

_Goodbye._

The words kept cutting Cosima’s heart open and she bit her lip so hard trying not to cry that she could taste blood. Delphine had made Cosima promise that she wouldn’t come up with the adoption subject out of nowhere, like she used to sometimes. She bit her tongue in a failed attempt to maintain quiet, but the words just rolled out of her mouth.

“We want to start the adoption process.”

Delphine turned around to find Cosima’s blank expression. She was pale like she had just seen a ghost. The woman from Children’s Services just looked up from her papers, adjusting her eyes behind the glasses that had fallen down a little on her nose.

Delphine’s gaze almost screamed _I asked you to wait_ when it met Cosima’s.

Cosima’s eyes yelled _I’m sorry._

“Adoption?” the woman repeated, raising a single eyebrow.

_What are you, deaf?_ Cosima thought, _that’s exactly what you heard. Please make it work. I’m sorry I was rude to you, but please. Make it work. I’m so sorry I didn’t mean it but_

The voice in Cosima’s mind was cut off when she heard her partners’ voice.

“Yeah, we want to adopt them. Both of them.” Delphine came from across the room where she had just put some papers back in place, taking Cosima out of her freaked out mind. “We would like to start the process as soon as possible.”

The redheaded in high heels, who they didn’t even bother to ask what her name was, sighed and put her pen down. She took her glasses off her face and put it on her lap.

“Are you sure about this or is this just your heavy consciousness about children losing their mother speaking? It happens a lot with people who work in this field. They take other people’s sorrows and-“

“Uhm, excuse me. Do you think that our decision to _adopt_ two kids who just lost their mother is just _heavy consciousness_?” Delphine spoke a little bit louder now, which was unusual of her. “I’m sorry but I have to disagree with you. It doesn’t concern you a bit about my life but I’ve been there. I once was that little scared girl over there, hugging her teddy bear with a baby sister just waiting to be transported to a complete strange house because my parents had just died and had no family left. I know what I went through and I’m sorry if I don’t want the same happening to them. So, yeah, we would like to start the adoption process if you will.”

Delphine was able to cover her anger with the classiest tone she could do. The hard words were softened and at first Cosima almost choked on her own saliva. It was obvious that they couldn’t be rude to the woman who literally held the future of Annie and Theo on her hands because it would make it even harder for them to get their custody, but Delphine managed to leave the woman speechless. A little smirk appeared on Cosima’s face, but she quickly erased it when she saw the expression on the woman’s face.

The cynicism was written all over her and it was starting to get on Cosima’s nerves. That woman had no soul and Cosima could prove it with a blink.

“Ok.” She replied in defeat. “We will start the process right away. Would you mind filling some files?”

“Not at all.” Delphine answered, the veins in her neck still popping out in anger and the redness all over her face. Cosima had never seen the blonde so mad at someone. Delphine held out an incredible steady hand. “Pass them over.”

 

***

After several pages were written on, filled with information about Cosima and Delphine’s personal lives, Cosima was torn between running away and holding Annie and Theo tight until they couldn’t wait anymore.

She chose to hold them.

She was holding Annie so tight that she let her go for a moment, scared she was bruising the little girl. Annie didn’t move. Didn’t speak. She was the quietest she had ever been and it was breaking Cosima’s heart. It made her whole body feel numb.

“Everything will be fine, I promise you, ok? You’re coming back to us in a blink.” Cosima whispered to the little girl, who now was fighting against the tears trying to break the barrier on her eyes.

“Please don’t let them take us away.” She replied.

_Please don’t let them take us away._

The words cut through Cosima like the sharpest knife. She couldn’t do anything else. It wasn’t in her power to do anything else and she hated the world and everything at that moment.

Delphine was singing Theo to sleep, her voice breaking at each _Somewhere Over the Rainbow_ word. Her face was getting red again from the crying. The burning feeling on the back of Cosima’s eyes started to show again and she took a deep breath. Two. Three.

“I can’t.” the woman answered, feeling a thousand needles punching her skin. “Not right now. But remember when we asked you if you would like to come live with us? Well, Delphine and I talked to the lady and she’s going to take care of it. You’re coming back to us. It is a promise.”

Annie just nodded in response. She was crying and Cosima rubbed her finger on her wet cheeks to wipe her tears away.

“It’s time.” Ms. Tremblay, the woman from Children’s Services that they had just found out it was her name, knocked lightly at the door to let them know they had to go now.

Theo was asleep. His bag was ready to go. Delphine had tied his pacifier to an end of his burp cloth so he wouldn’t lose it. She had noticed he’d fall asleep faster if she put the cloth between her chest and his face. Maybe because it still had a little bit of her mother’s scent to it. She kissed his temple before walking towards the door with pain in her heart.

Cosima got up and caressed the top of his head gently, kissing his forehead. Delphine tried not to look at the woman because she knew she would cry. She failed. The second she saw the teary eyes behind her glasses her heart broke in a million pieces. _You’re getting them back. What’s yours will come back to you,_ she kept saying the mantra in her head to help her cope.

It wasn’t helping. Not now.

In a natural movement Delphine handed Theo carefully into Cosima’s arms, trying to keep the baby sleeping. Delphine walked towards the couch and sat right next to Annie, who was watching them with Theo. The nervousness made her pick the sides of her fingers which were all red now.

“Hey, stop doing that. It’ll hurt later.” Delphine said with a smile, holding her hands apart. “Cosima talked to you, right?” Annie nodded. “So, you know that you’re coming back to us. It might take a while because that is how things work. But I swear to you that you’re coming back. And you and Theo will have your own room with your own bed and his crib.”

Delphine was laughing at the memory of them sleeping together in their mattress in the middle of their living room, Cosima putting the cushions on the floor around Theo so he wouldn’t fall on it. The tears kept running down her face and she couldn’t stop them. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to.

“I like it better when we sleep together in the living room. I feel safe. Even when you drool.” Annie said quietly, letting out a chuckle.

“Hey, I don’t drool, ok! It was one time!” Delphine laughed, making Annie laugh too. “I promise everything will be fine. Do you trust me?”

“ _Just give me trust and we’ll watch what happens”_ Annie sang the phrase from the song Delphine had sang to her that night when she couldn’t sleep with a little smile on her face. When both of them couldn’t sleep. “I do.”

“I’m sorry, but we really need to go.” The voice of Ms. Tremblay was starting to annoy Delphine, but she took a deep breath and got up, holding out a hand to Annie.

The girl took it and got up too, with her purple backpack on her back and Sully on her arms.

Cosima walked through the door with a sleeping baby on her arms, Delphine put the shoulder strap of his bag on her shoulder and followed them to the front door of the precinct.

When they reached the last hall before they were out of the building, they stopped. Simultaneously. They stared at each other and then at Annie. The little girl looked up and gave them a sad smile before looking at the woman waiting for her. The car she came in was ready with a baby car chair.

All four of them walked through the door and the cold breeze hit their faces. Ms. Tremblay opened the car door to put Theo on his chair.

“Can I?” Cosima pointed with a head movement to the chair, asking for a little more time with him. Ms. Tremblay nodded.

She looked at the baby curled up in her arms and gave him a last caress on his cheek.

“You’ll be fine. You’re coming back to us, I promise. I love you.” She gave him a kiss and bent down to settle him comfortably on the chair. As soon as he left her arms, he cried. “Shhh..” Cosima shushed him, holding his hand. He stopped crying. “It’s okay, you’re okay.”

In a sudden movement, Annie held the legs of both women at once. Her head was set between their bodies.

“I’m going to miss you so much. Don’t let them take us.”

“Hey, you’re going to be fine, ok?” Cosima bent down and held her hand. “You’re coming back soon.”

“Just like I promised you.” Delphine added. “And then we’re going to buy that dinosaur onesie that you liked so much at that store. I bet they have your size now.”

“Okay.” Annie replied with a sigh. It almost seemed like these words made her feel safe. “I love you.”

Cosima didn’t expect to hear those words at all. She almost let out a gasp.

Delphine tried so hard not to choke on air. The giant knot in her throat and the feeling on the side of her eyes coming back.

“We love you too. So much. We’ll talk every day, ok?” Delphine answered, but the words almost didn’t come out. She kissed her goodbye.

_Goodbye._

_Not a permanent goodbye, but still a goodbye._

Cosima did the same. They both hugged her tight. Without looking back, she got into the car. It was probably better. It would hurt less.

“I started the adoption process. It might take from one to six months to complete, but they have to go for now. I’ll call you later when I have any updates on the provisory custody.” Ms. Tremblay said and they both just nodded in agreement.

Delphine held Cosima from behind, her body fitting Cosima’s like the missing piece of a puzzle.

The woman got into the car. Started the engine. Drove away.

Annie didn’t look back once.

They couldn’t move.

They just watched as the car disappeared into the streets of Toronto, taking away the kids. _Their kids._

_It hurts,_ Cosima thought, _everything hurts._

And just like Delphine could read Cosima’s mind, she gave her a kiss on her neck. “I know, baby. I know.”

Cosima’s body was shaking. Crying. Delphine was crying, her head hurt.

“They’re coming back.” Delphine said.

“I wish they hadn’t left.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twitter is @tatxmasIany in case you wanna say hi!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They keep digging Elena's case and try to find out what happened to her. Cosima and Delphine talk to Annie for the first time since they left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to point out that today marks a year since Orphan Black ended and boy, am I still emotional about it! Anyways, this chapter is not that long but I really like it and hope you'll do too!   
> Any grammar errors/typos let me know!

Time had never passed so slowly for Cosima and Delphine. Everything they did reminded them of the kids and how heavy their hearts were since they left. They knew they’d be in good hands until they get them back, but it was a long road and Delphine, better than anyone, knew that. She had been through it herself and she knew how sad and scared she felt when she entered that house with a lot of strange people in the same situation as hers. Delphine did have her sister with her but she was the older one. In her mind, it was her duty to look over the younger girl and help her get through it.

Delphine suddenly felt her stomach turning inside her and she wanted to throw up.

_What if the adoption goes wrong and we can’t get them back? What if the Social Services doesn’t approve our application and we just lose them forever?_

She couldn’t bear with the thought. The process implied a deep research on the Social Services part to check for criminal backgrounds, family history, home environment and, sure, they didn’t need to be worried when it came to police problems but Delphine’s background history was almost identical to theirs and it might be a problem. They might think that they’re only doing this due to childhood traumas and be too hesitant about it.

_But what if this was it? What if her own experience had spoken louder and affected how she thought and acted when it came to those kids?_

_No. Delphine, stop it._

_You know that’s not the case._

_Do I?_

_Yes, you do. You can feel it._

Delphine had set a dialogue with herself in her mind for a good time now. The quietness took Cosima’s attention out of some new evidence on Elena’s case.

“Babe? You’re ok?” she called her out, causing the blonde to jump. Delphine smiled lightly at her and nodded her head yes before returning to her microscope. “You don’t seem ok, distracted at least.”

“Just worried. That’s all.”

“I know it’s about the kids but… Care to share?” Cosima put the plastic glasses that were over hers on the table and walked towards Delphine, close enough for her to touch her arm gently trying to comfort the blonde. She let out a sigh and looked at Cosima.

“I’m just afraid they won’t approve our application. I feel like I’m going to college all over again but ten times worse now.” Delphine replied, laughing nervously at the end of the sentence. “It’s just… They’re going to do their research about our lives. They’ll see that I’m adopted too and what if they think it’s just trauma speaking? Or, I don’t know, they find a family before our application is fully set and Annie likes them more than us and they take them away. It’s just eating me alive.”

“Hey, babe, don’t panic. Everything is going to work out just fine. I’m worried about them too. Your childhood history won’t interfere in the adoption and I dare to say it will even make it easier because you’ll be able to help Annie in a way that I or any other person couldn’t. And, when the times comes, you’re going to help Theo with his own doubts too because you went through it with Louise.” She said calmly, stroking gently her thumb on top of her lover’s hand while she held it on her own. “We can’t do much right now and, trust me, it’s killing me inside and it physically hurts, but what we can do is call her everyday to make sure she knows we’re waiting for her and we love her and her brother and that we will be here for as long as they need because that’s what matters.”

Delphine couldn’t help the smile on her face right now. She kept picturing how Sunday’s would look with the kids from now on and how much Cosima would cry when Annie aces her first Biology exam. She held a chuckle when her mind created a scenario where Theo cried at night and Cosima tripped on her own clothes on the floor. It was just perfect. That’s the life she wanted.

“Ok.” She simply answered, feeling the tension on her shoulders fade away as Cosima wrapped her arms around her waist. “You’re the best.”

“Nope, you are.” Cosima answered, jokingly. All this time they’d been together and she still felt the blood rush to her cheeks every time Delphine said these kinds of things to her. “I love you. So much. It hurts.”

“Then I demand you stop loving me right now because I don’t want you hurting.”

“You know that’s not possible. You’re like the drug keeping me alive!”

“I don’t know if I should feel flattered about being, I don’t know, the bronchodilator to your bronchitis or worried about being the cocaine to a literal drug addict.” Delphine said, causing Cosima to laugh so hard her eyes started to water. Delphine quickly joined her. Cosima’s laugh was contagious to her and made her feel good every time she listened to it. “I love you too, baby.”

Cosima gave a quick peck on Delphine’s lips before letting the woman go, returning to her samples.

“I’m still shocked about Elena. I think I can’t touch any of her things anymore after all that happened. You know, with the kids and stuff.” Delphine said quietly while looking at a piece of fiber found on Elena’s clothes.

So far, they knew that she had been the victim of a shooting coming back home to her kids; that her blood was type O+ and had found type A+ on her blouse. It was known that some people had helped her at that moment and some people had been injured too, but not certain if who helped her was injured too or if it was someone else. Art was still looking for some new evidence and for more information about Elena’s past. They had their hands tied.

And it was killing Cosima inside because she wanted to make the woman justice at any cost now. She owed it to her kids.

***

A few hours later Art entered the lab and his facial expressions were impossible to read. Cosima looked up from the paperwork she was filling as the man got closer.

“Well, I have good news on the case.” He said. “I just spoke to one of the people who was at the crime scene. The blood you found on her blouse was his. Scott examined a sample of his blood to the one you found and it matched. He worked with her and was walking her home when it happened. He was hurt too, held her in his arms until someone came, that’s how his blood was there. But it was too late when 911 arrived. He looked devastated.”

“Well, when someone dies in your arms you’re not exactly in the best mood ever.” Delphine said, trying to maintain a not so heavy vibe.

“He said he really liked her. His name is Mark, he’s 32. They had gone out a couple of times and the kids were quiet and well behaved. She didn’t have anyone to take care of them so every time they went out she took them with her.” Arm continued, “He said he didn’t mind because, like he said, the kids were always great.”

“Yeah, they really are.” Cosima said, trying to set her mind somewhere else instead of keeping the image of the kids leaving in her head.

“So, with that said, he told us a few things about the neighborhood since he’s been working there for quite some time now and we put some pieces together and got the guy responsible for the shooting. He’s in jail right now.”

Something about those words made a huge weight lift off from Delphine’s shoulders. She closed her eyes and laid her body on the counter in front of her as a blast of relief ran through her entire body. Cosima dragged her head down between her hands and sighed deeply.

“Marconi Lutetto, 45. He was one of the leads in another on-going investigation about drug trafficking and two shootings a couple months ago. We didn’t even have to bring him in for questioning because he tried to run away when we approached. Bastard.” Art seemed lighter as he spoke. Those cases were always hard to close. He handed Delphine the case file, which the blonde read with caution.

“It’s over.” It was the only thing Cosima was able to say. “The guy is in jail, we found out whose blood it was… The kids are still in foster care. Not with family, or with us, but foster care. Their mother is still dead, but it’s over.”

“Babe…” Delphine approached Cosima, pinching her arm gently.

“I know. I know it’s how things work and the world is just a big mess but… Ugh.”

“I’m sorry.” Delphine simply said like she could take the blame for everything that happened. As if the fault was hers.

“It’s not your fault, Delphine. It just sucks. She’s not the first and won’t be the last. I don’t know why she touched me this much.”

“You like justice.” Art said. “That’s why you’re so good at your job. You like bringing people justice and peace to their hearts. It’s not every time that you get engaged in a case like you did with this one and, trust me, if you did you’d go mad because the things I see… They’re cruel. That’s the world we live in. And, also, the love of your life went through the same as a child. You feel her pain in those kids’ pain. That’s why you’re hurting so bad. But I promise you it’ll go away. When the kids come back to your arms, it will all go away.”

Art didn’t talk much or was always giving them advice, but every once in a while, when he did, he knew exactly what to say to make everyone feel better. Maybe that’s just the years of experience dealing with rough cases. Maybe that’s just his gift.

“Thank you for your words, I really appreciate it.” Cosima said, the words breaking as she spoke. She stopped for a moment before letting her breakdown come through. “I just want them back.”

She cried in her lover’s and best friend’s arms. She felt safe, but everything hurt.

“We know.” Delphine whispered to Cosima’s ear.

 

***

The ringing sound on Cosima’s phone was making the woman anxious.

“Great, now she won’t pick up. She hates us, I’m telling you.” She put her hand on the bottom of the phone in an attempt to mute it. “ _I’m too busy hating you to pick up your damn call about your kids.”_ She imitated the woman’s voice in the most devil way.

“Cosima, stop it. She’s probably driving or busy.” Delphine was nervous too but she didn’t want to show it to Cosima. You could see by her pale, cold, shaking hands.

“Yeah, busy driving back to hell where she belon—Oh, hi, Ms. Tremblay.” Her anger faded to sweetness in a millisecond, making Delphine chuckle.

“ _Hello, Ms. Niehaus, what can I help you with?”_

“Oh, Cosima, please. And we wanted to know about the kids.”

“ _They’re perfectly fine, don’t worry. I dropped them off at the house they’re staying for now and they seemed to adapt. Theo cried a little because there are a lot of kids there and it was probably overwhelming to him. Annie was shy until the moment I left, but I got a call from the woman who watches over the kids and she said that everything is fine. I can give you her number if you want to get in touch with them. Her name is Maria.”_

“Oh, yes, please. That is actually the reason we called you. If it’s not taking too much of your time.”

“ _Not at all. Do you have a pen and a paper in hands so you can write it down?”_

Cosima gestured to Delphine to get her phone and type the number down. The blonde seemed lost and the sudden movement.

“What?” Delphine said.

“Yeah, just a second!” Cosima said to the woman on the phone. She covered her phone again with her hand and turned to Delphine. “Grab your phone. She’s giving us the number of the lady who’s taking care of them.”

Delphine quickly got it from her pocket and typed the numbers on it as Cosima spoke.

“We’ll give her a call as soon as we can. Thank you for your time, Ms. Tremblay.”

“ _No problem. And, please, Camila.”_

“Well, then, thank you so much, Camila. We appreciate it. Yeah, you too. Bye.” Cosima hang up and looked at Delphine, who was now with her own phone up on her ear. “What are _you_ doing?”  she whispered to the woman.

“Calling her.” Delphine whispered back.

“You don’t even know her name. What are you going to say, ‘hi, I’m looking for the woman who’s taking care of my kids’?”

“What’s her name, do _you_ know it, Ms. Funny?” Delphine said a little louder this time and raised her eyebrows, covering her phone with her hand. Each ring tone made her stomach turn.

“It’s Maria.”

“Well, thank you. Was it so bad?”

“In fact, it was.” Cosima replied jokingly.

“Oh, well, because of that behavior of yours you don’t get to hear. I was going to put on speaker but now I won’t.”

“Oh, no, please don’t do it.” Cosima hugged Delphine from behind, squeezing her waist tight. “Pleeease.”

“Ok, be quiet.” Delphine put her phone on speaker. It rang three times before a woman answered.

“ _Hello?”_

_“_ Uh, hi! Can I talk to Maria, please?” Delphine said.

“ _This is she. Who am I speaking to, please?_ ”

“Hi, I’m Delphine Cormier. Uh, Ms. Tremblay, Camila Tremblay, just left Annie and Theo with you, is this correct?”

“ _Oh, hello, Ms. Cormier. And yes, she left them here this morning. She said you might call_.”

The woman sounded sweet and caring and for a moment it made the women relax. You could hear some jazzy, childish song in the background and some kids speaking loudly.

“Uh, yeah, we started the process of adoption. I’m sorry to bother you if I’m calling in an inconvenient time, I can call another time when you’re not busy, if you don’t mind.”

“ _Don’t worry, it’s fine. I’m actually playing some music to the kids so they can calm down before dinner. But, back to Annie and Theo. Camila did tell me what happened to them and how you managed to take care of them for the weekend and I think that’s such a beautiful gesture. For what I can see, Annie is having kind of a rough time dealing with all, but she keeps helping me with her little brother. He’s the sweetest, don’t even worry about him. At first he seemed a little scared and cried a little and only Annie could make him stop._ ”

The mix of emotions Delphine and Cosima were feeling at that moment was going from extremely relieved to heartbreaking in a second. But both women couldn’t help the smile growing on their faces as they heard that last sentence.

“ _But now he’s fine, currently taking a nap. There are other babies in here, too, and they seemed to get along, played together with the toys and stuff. Same goes for Annie. She’s quiet and likes to have her own space, so I’m not forcing her to play with the others_.”

“We’re so happy to hear that. Annie is shy indeed, even when she was with us. The first couple days she cried a lot, said she missed her mother, but we managed to distract her for a while. It’s been hard for us, too, having to let them go.”

“ _I can only imagine._ ” Maria replied, a little bit distant from the speaker now. You could hear some kid talking to her and Cosima’s heart skipped a beat when she recognized Annie’s voice.

_‘Is it Delphine? Or Cosima? Can I talk to her? Please?’_

_‘It is Delphine, yes. Do you want to speak with her? Ok.’_

“ _So, Annie is here and she’s asking to talk to you, if you don’t have any more questions and if you do please feel free to ask them_.” Maria said, the sound closer now.

“You’re the only one taking care of all them?” Cosima spoke. “I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Cosima, Delphine’s partner. We’re on speaker.”

“ _Well, I am not. I have two other ladies helping me with them and they’re trustworthy. They’re great with the kids and younger than me, which helps sometimes_.” The woman let out a raspy laugh. “ _I’m going to hand the phone to Annie now, is it ok?”_

“Yeah, totally. Thank you for your time.”

“ _No problem! If you still have any doubts just tell Annie to hand me the phone again after you’re done_.”

Maria’s voice was distant now. Cosima and Delphine looked at each other, both giving the other a reassuring smile that _everything is ok, no need to worry as much anymore._ But it took all the strength they had not to cry when they heard Annie’s voice closer to the phone.

“ _Hi!_ ” Annie’s voice wasn’t loud, but it wasn’t quiet either. She seemed happy.

“Hi, pumpkin! How are you doing?” Delphine said

“ _I’m fine. Maria is a cool lady. And so is Perry and Laura. But I miss you._ ”

“We miss you too!” Cosima said before Delphine could speak.

“ _Hi Cosima! I miss you!_ ”

“They’re treating you well there?”

“ _Yes, there are a lot of kids in here too. They’re nice. Kira asked if I wanted to play with her dolls with her._ ”

“Seems like you’re okay, then.” Delphine sounded relieved to hear that from the girl.

“ _I am, but I liked it more when I was with you._ ” Her voice was filled with sadness and it hit the women like a truck.

“We liked it more when you and your brother were with us, too. Just wait for a little while, ok?”

“ _Ok._ ”

“We love you so much, ok? We’re counting the days until we can pick you and your brother up!”

“ _Me too! Are you coming soon?_ ”

“We definitely are, but to visit only. But we’re going to check on you and your brother as soon as we can, we just need to check with Maria the details, ok?”

“ _Ok! Oh, she’s calling me. I think dinner is ready_.”

“Ok! Make sure to eat your vegetables, ok? Can you pass the phone to Maria again, please, sweetheart?”

“ _Sure. Bye_!”

“Bye, baby” Cosima and Delphine answered in unison before they heard Maria’s voice again on the phone.

“ _She’s such a lovely girl and so are you both. She and her brother are lucky to have found you_.”

“We’re the lucky ones, trust me.” Cosima answered. “I was wondering if we could visit? I don’t know if that’s allowed or anything, but… She asked when we’re going…”

“ _Yes, you can. But only in a few days, when it’s visiting day. It’s every Wednesday at 4pm. It’s usually when people who want to adopt come to check on the kids_.”

“Oh, that’s great! We’ll talk later then. I won’t take much more of your time. Thank you for your kindness.”

“ _You’re welcome. Feel free to call whenever you please_.”

“Thank you. Ok, bye.”

“ _Have a good night_.”

“You too.”

Delphine ended the call and turned to face Cosima, who had no expression on her face.

“Well…”

“That was… Uh…”

“Yeah.”

It was intense, shocking to say the least. Annie was fine and so was Theo. Delphine was a little bit surprised that the girl didn’t cry or seem bothered about being away. She was a child and everything she ever knew fell apart in a matter of days and it would be the expected reaction from a kid to cry. If it was her – when it was her, almost 25 years ago – she would’ve cried her eyes off and begged to come back.

_But not Annie. She’s a smart girl, she knows she’s coming back. That’s why she’s calm about this. God, she’s only five. How come she’s so… mature?,_ Delphine thought to herself.

Cosima had a lot on her mind. Hearing how Annie was fine and that she missed them brought comfort to the brunette’s heart. It was all that mattered. _Wasn’t it?,_ she thought. But it wasn’t enough. Not yet. She needed them to be fine and safe with her, with Delphine.

They didn’t know what else to do or to say, so Cosima just turned her head lightly to the side and gave Delphine a sincere smile. Delphine smiled back and grabbed Cosima, wrapping her arms around her and kissing gently the side of her forehead.

“They’re ok, that’s what matters.” She said and stopped for a second. “Right?”

Cosima closed her eyes, finding the comfort in Delphine’s embrace.

“Right. They’re fine.”

“They’re fine.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're all enjoying it and let me know what you think of the story!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cosima and Delphine receive a phone call and make some shopping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who's reading and leaving kudos and comments. It really means a lot.  
> The same song from chapter 6 appears in this one too, so if you want to listen to it again when it's mentioned, the name is I Know a Place by MUNA.  
> Again, the story is not beta'd and it's not my first language, sooo any typos/grammar erros, let me know and I'll fix them right away.  
> Flashback/past event (whatever you wanna call it) is in italics.

Cosima was running around picking up clothes they had left behind on the couch and cups that were left behind around the house. Last week had been crazy for both of them and now the house was a mess. It wasn’t something that usually happened often since Delphine was a very organized person and would clean up whatever was off place, even when they got home late at night. The woman said it helped her whenever she was stressed out about something and Cosima would just laugh. _How the hell does cleaning help you distress or something? You get all sweaty and it’s exhausting,_ the brunette would say every single time. But, right now, she knew how Delphine felt.

It has been a month since Annie and Theo had been taken away. When they visited last time, Annie was feeling down. The absence of her mother really started to hit her. Maria said the girl was crying more often now than when they arrived, asking for her mother to come pick her up.

Not Delphine, not Cosima. Her mother.

And it broke Cosima inside. Annie didn’t ask for her or anyone else and the only person that could make the girl’s pain go away was buried now.

They received a late call last night. It rang three times. Delphine thought it was someone call-pranking them or something so she didn’t pick up. But when the phone rang again, she muttered some words and picked up the phone from the bedside table.

_“Hello?”_

_“Hi, Delphine? It’s Maria.” They had passed the formal miss thing now. Maria called every now and then to give the women a heads up about the kids and Delphine made sure to call every two days. It was like a clock._

_“Oh, hey. Did something happen?” the blonde started to worry. She sat up gently on the bed in order to keep Cosima from waking up, but the brunette was a light sleeper so even the slightest would make her jump out._

_“Yes, sort of. I’m sorry to be calling late at night like this, but we have a situation and I ran out of things to do. We were putting the kids to sleep and all of them are sleeping now, but Annie couldn’t even get to bed. It has been an hour. She started crying and kept asking to call her mother to come pick her up. We don’t know what else to do so we thought that you might be able to calm her down.”_

_Cosima stared at Delphine’s blank face and saw the woman swallow hard and her lips tremble a little bit._

_“What? What happened?” Cosima whispered to Delphine. The blonde didn’t move._

_“Okay, is she awake now? Is she with you?” Delphine said on the phone._

_“Yes, she is.” Delphine listened very closely and right in the background, far away from the vivid sound of Maria’s voice, she could hear her crying. Hiccups._

_She wasn’t throwing a tantrum, like when she cries but she’s just trying to get something and isn’t really sad. It wasn’t that one type that you see only a tear or two run down her face. Delphine had seen it a couple times now when they had visited. Annie didn’t want them to leave so she started crying but no tears would come out._

_There were hiccups._

_Exactly like when she found out her mother had passed away. The hurt cry._

_Delphine felt like she held her heart in her hand and it was hurt. A burning sensation spread on her chest._

_“Delphine, what is it?” Cosima said a little bit louder now, catching the woman’s attention._

_“It’s Annie.” Delphine replied in a whisper, muting the phone. “She’s asking for her mother. Not us. Her mother. Her very dead mother.”_

_“Delphine? Are you there?” She heard the woman calling her name out on the other side of the phone._

_“Yes, I’m here. Can I speak to her?”_

_“Sure. Just a second.”_

_Cosima was the one with the blank face now. She didn’t know how to react. What if it happened when they were with them? She wouldn’t know how to react or comfort her and it would freak her out. A strange feeling growing at the bottom of her throat made her take deep breaths._

_The way those kids mess with her feelings couldn’t be explained by any neurophysiology book on Earth. Cosima was always the first one to come up with biological or physiological explanations for whatever the feeling was in order to maintain her mind from freaking out. It has always helped her._

_Until now._

_She didn’t know how to explain the feeling. There was no concrete reason on why she was feeling like her life depended on how those kids, that were not related to her in any way and that she had met for a little more than just a month, made her feel._

_She zoned out from her own mind and caught a glimpse of Delphine’s hand putting the phone on speaker._

_“Mom?” Annie’s voice was tremulous and waved. She tried to hold a hiccup but failed._

_“Hey Annie! It’s me, Delphine.” The blonde said softly._

_“And Cosima!” Cosima tried to keep her own voice from cracking._

_“I want my mom!” she started crying hard again, the hiccups coming with more intensity now. “I don’t want them! I want my mom! Call my mom!” her voice was faded now, like she had distanced the phone from her mouth. She was most likely handling the phone back to Maria now._

_Cosima didn’t say a word, she didn’t even flinch. She knew what was to come with her, but hearing those words hurt. Like hell._

_“Annie!” Delphine called the girl. “Can you hear me?” She tried, but the girl was crying loudly._

_“Annie!” Cosima said a little louder now. If the girl had heard her she was not sure, but it seemed like her crying got a little lighter._

_“What?” she seemed mad._

_“Can we talk for a second?”_

_“Yes.”_

_“Okay, good. So, tell me, what happened?”_

_“I want my mom. She’s not here and I want her. I miss her so much.” And just like that Annie started getting mad again._

_“Hey, baby, we know you do and you know that if we could we would bring her right back to you, but it’s out of our hands.” Delphine’s voice was smooth and incredibly calming. Cosima could feel the effect on herself. “What can we do to make you feel better?”_

_“Bring my mom back.”_

_“We can’t do that, baby.” Cosima said, “you know we can’t. Is there something else? I don’t know, maybe we can sing you a song?”_

_“Like the one Delphine sang to me when I was scared?” Annie had calmed down now. Something about Cosima’s voice made the girl feel safe and forget everything around her that scared her._

_“Just like that.” The brunette replied. “Would you like her to sing again to you?”_

_“They can’t see you nodding, sweetheart.” Maria’s voice came through the phone, making Cosima and Delphine smile._

_“Yes, please.”_

_“So, let’s make a deal. Maria will put you in bed but don’t worry, we’ll be on the line the whole time. We won’t hang up.” Cosima explained when she heard the girl whine at the mention of being tucked in bed. “We do that first, okay?”_

_“Okay. I’m going. Don’t hang up.” She asked._

_“We won’t.”_

_Muttered words were audible. Maria was putting Annie to bed, whispering sweet things to her as they, apparently, walked back to her room._

_“Okay, I’m in bed now. I’m whispering because the other girls are sleeping.” She said and let a post-cry hiccup out. “Sorry.”_

_“No need to apologize, baby. Delphine will sing the song to you until you fall asleep. Will you make you feel better?”_

_“Yes.”_

_“Do you remember how the song starts?” Delphine asked while Cosima paid as much attention as she could to the whole situation. They were putting Annie to bed through a phone call. Not her mother, like she first wanted, but they were able to calm her down and make her to go bed. ‘It would all be fine then, right?’, Cosima thought._

_“I don’t know. Something about a home?” it came out like a question._

_“Yeah, that’s right.” Delphine said and before she could start singing the words, the girl cut her off._

_“I can’t wait to be home again with you.”_

_“We too, honey, we too.” Cosima replied._

_“So, how does it go again?” Delphine said, “I knew when you told me you don’t want to home tonight…”_

_And she kept singing the entire song, humming when there were no words. When she finished it, the noise coming from the phone indicated that it was being picked up from Annie’s hand._

_“How do you do that?” Maria asked. A door closing was heard. “She fell asleep in a blink of an eye.”_

_“To be completely honest I don’t know for sure.” Delphine answered, “maybe something about the lyrics? The melody?”_

_“Or all of it with your voice attached to it.” The comment made Delphine smile a bit. “Also, something about Cosima calmed the girl right away. She was crying like crazy and then when Cosima spoke to her, it was like something clicked inside her and she stopped. She calmed down in seconds.”_

_“We just… Love her.” Cosima simply replied. She couldn’t think of anything else to say. Just love. That was all it was._

_“I know you do and I’m honestly so glad that she’s coming home to you.” Maria said. Cosima’s lips twitched involuntarily in a smile. “Thank you so much and I’m so sorry again, to have bothered you. I didn’t know what else to do.”_

_“No need for apologies. Please don’t hesitate to call us again, we want to help her as much as possible.”_

_“Will do. Now you both have a good night. And thank you again.”_

_“Good night, Maria.” They answered in unison and hung up._

Cosima didn’t realize she had been standing in the corner of the room with three blouses and a cup on her hand until Delphine snapped her fingers in front of her face.

“Hello? Earth to Cosima.”

“Sorry.” She said, “Got caught up on flashbacks from the Annie situation last night.”

“You’ve been zoning out more often since we started calling her more frequently.”

“I can’t help it.” Cosima shrugged, looking slightly ashamed and looked down at her feet.

“It’s Saturday morning and you’re cleaning the whole house. Like, this room looked like it had been a victim of a tornado and now you can see your reflection on the floor.” Delphine chuckled and held the back of Cosima’s arms. The touch made the tension in her shoulders, that she didn’t even know was there, disappear.

“Well, you’re not one to complain, are you?” she replied and smiled.

“Definitely not.” Delphine pulled Cosima closer and kisser her gently.

When they parted, Cosima took a quick look at the clock and pulled back from the blonde’s arms. It was almost 10AM and the house was clean, the trash had been taken out, breakfast had been eaten.

And just like that Cosima zoned out again. Delphine smirked, a crazy idea coming to her head and she pulled the woman closer again.

“You know…” she whispered in the woman’s ear. “I think you need a distraction.” The blonde made sure to sound as sarcastic as possible. Cosima looked at Delphine and raised her eyebrows.

“You literally _just_ complained about how much I’m zoning out. But I’m back now. There’s nothing you can do to distract me.”

“Really?” Delphine said suggestively, “there’s nothing I can do to distract you?”

The blonde placed her hands on Cosima’s waist, pressing their bodies together. Her lips went straight to her earlobe, biting it gently. She knew it was Cosima’s soft spot. Delphine could see the chills running on Cosima’s body and how every muscle on her body tensed at the touch.

“Well when you put it that way…”

Cosima grabbed Delphine’s face on her hands and pulled her face closer to hers, pressing their lips together. Her hands ran through the side of Delphine’s body, the lust taking over her body and her mind. Delphine tugged the hem of Cosima’s shirt, pulling it over her head and throwing somewhere on the floor of the room. Cosima pushed Delphine until the back of her knees hit the couch and laid the woman down, crawling on top of her as she left kisses on her neck, her chest, her stomach until she hit her hip bone and felt Delphine’s grasp tighten on her shoulder.

 

***

“You know what I was thinking?” Cosima had been drawing circles and shapes on Delphine’s flat stomach for quite some time now. Their legs were tangled and Delphine had one arm under Cosima’s head, her hand caressing the side of Cosima’s head as her naked body laid sided on Delphine’s.

“Can you even think after that mind-blowing sex we just had?” Delphine said jokingly.

“You’re an idiot.” Cosima laughed and took Delphine’s free hand on her own, entwining their fingers. “As I was saying… I was thinking about how we have no furniture for the kids.”

“We might have to move some things back on that spare room where we keep the books.” Delphine agreed, thinking back about how the room was designed.

Their house did have a basement and that’s where the guest room was. It had a couple bed and a bathroom, which was perfect for when their families came to visit. But, apart from that, there was an extra room in the house where they just kept a large wooden closet, but instead of drawers and hangers, there were shelves filled with biology and immunology books.

“We need a bed and a crib. And clothes. And toys. And baby bottles.” Cosima said slowly, like if she had a list on her mind.

“Then we should go buy it.” Delphine said, looking at Cosima. “If we dress really fast we can catch the store open.”

“Are you serious? That’s sudden. Because I was just like, reminding of what we need to do when they get here.”

“I’m serious. We’ll need to do it sooner or later. And besides,” Delphine pushed Cosima’s legs so she could stand up, picking her clothes from the floor. “we need to be ready for when Social Services come. They’ll check the house, see if it fits two children.” Delphine said.

“There’s also that.” Cosima got up, picking her clothes and putting them on.

“Ok, let’s go then.” In a blink of an eye, Delphine was already dressed and putting her shoes on.

“I’ll go close everything up, you start the car.” Cosima said as she buttoned her jeans.

 

***

They pulled over in the parking lot and just sat there, staring at the giant sign on the front of the store. Cosima almost couldn’t believe her eyes and what she was about to do.

_It’s getting real._

She glanced over at Delphine and saw the blonde with the same expression as hers and smiled. She took her hand and gave it a light squeeze.

“We’re doing this.” The blonde said, almost in a whisper. Cosima could swear she saw her eyes starting to water.

“We are.” She replied, staring at nothing. “We’re about to go in there and buy a crib and a bed. That’s honestly insane. Like, _really_ insane. It’s been a month. Like, is it really happening? I mean, a month is _not_ a lot of time and I don’t know, maybe we _are_ out of our minds but-“

“Cosima, stop. Hey, look at me.” Delphine called her out of her wandering. She held her chin with her index finger and turned Cosima’s face towards hers. “You’re doing it again, the zoning out. But this time you’re freaking out along with it. We’re fine. Everything is happening the way it should be. It is not out of nowhere. We’ve been wanting to do this for quite some time, remember?” Delphine said, holding Cosima’s hands. “We’re where we’re supposed to be.”

“Okay, okay.” Cosima said to herself, trying to calm down. “Everything is fine, we’re fine, right?” she looked at Delphine as if she was asking for reassurance. Delphine smiled and nodded her head yes. She gave Cosima a quick peck on the lips before answering.

“We’re more than fine.”

They stared at each other for a couple seconds before Cosima glanced at the store again.

“Let’s go then.”

 

The store was huge. Tall shelves everywhere holding chairs, tables, beds and every type of furniture to ever exist. Cosima observed every inch of that place as she walked in, holding Delphine’s hand with their fingers entwined.

“Maybe we should go look separately. I mean, they’re almost closing and this place is huge.” Delphine proposed, looking around the place.

“No way, I’m going to get lost and then it will be a mess.”

“I think we should.” Delphine said, her eyebrows raised with a smirk on her face. She was playing with the brunette. She knew they needed to pick it together and she wouldn’t want to do it separately anyways.

She kept walking away from Cosima between sections like if she was in drama class. She held a laugh in, trying to keep Cosima from finding out about her little game. Cosima rolled her eyes and followed the woman in defeat.

“Delphine, I’m serious!” Cosima’s voice was really starting to be more distant now. She knew the blonde was playing her and that part of Delphine’s personality was her favorite.

“May we meet again!” Delphine extended her arms out in front of her dramatically making Cosima stop walking and cross her arms in front of her chest.

“ _No!_ You don’t say that.” She finally started walking towards Delphine again. The blonde couldn’t keep it in anymore and laughed loudly.

“Why not?” Delphine wrapped her arm around Cosima’s neck. They started walking, looking for the baby furniture section.

“Because it sounds like you’re dying and it makes me sad.” Cosima pouted and held Delphine closer.

“You’re _so_ the love of my life.” Delphine chuckled and kissed the other woman’s forehead.

***

“I think we got it.”

Cosima and Delphine stared at the white convertible crib in front of them. The price was good and it turned into a toddler bed, so Theo would be able to use it for some time before they had to trade it for an actual bed.

“Yeah, this one is pretty good.” Delphine said in response, taking a deeper look into the details.

“We’re taking this one?” Cosima asked as if she couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth or the situation or anything in general.

“Yeah, it was kind of your choice.” A small smile appeared on Delphine’s face.

“I know, I’m just… reassuring it to myself.” Cosima smiled as she touched the grail on the crib.

“It seems crazy, doesn’t it?” Delphine asked, feeling that cold sensation growing in her stomach. “Sometimes it’s hard for me to believe, too. But I couldn’t be happier that I’m doing this with you.”

“The cutest couple ever.” Callie, the store employee who was helping them through the place, whispered but not quiet enough that they couldn’t hear her. She looked like a character from _Sex and the City_ with her blonde curly hair and impeccable nails. Cosima and Delphine turned to face her and she felt her cheeks burn. “I’m sorry. It’s just… You’re, like, the cutest couple I’ve ever seen, I swear to God. Like, I can see the love in your eyes.”

“Well, thank you! That’s so sweet!” Cosima chuckled before she answered and grabbed Delphine’s hand again. The blonde smiled widely at the younger woman in front of her. “We’ll take this one and the other single bed we saw.”

“Perfect! Follow me, then.”            

They went to the cashier and paid for the furniture. Callie came to see if they needed anything else, but Delphine just shook her head no and thanked the girl. Callie said, once again, how cute they were together and how beautiful their family was going to be. It wasn’t just a sales person talk. Everyone could she how they were shining from miles.

Once they got back into the car, Cosima let out a deep sigh that seemed to be held in for a long time now. She was doing it. _They_ were doing it. Together. She glanced at Delphine and the woman had her gaze stuck on Cosima. She smiled at her and let the silence sit between them for a couple of seconds before they broke it.

“They’re delivering it on Monday.” She said smoothly.

“I know.”

“A crib and a single bed.”

“Theo’s crib. Annie’s bed.”

The words came out of Cosima’s mouth as if she was in shock.

“Their room. Oh, my god, their bedroom.” Delphine said almost in a gasp. “We need to organize their room.”

“We still have time, right?” Cosima asked as she buckled her seatbelt.

“I don’t know, we might have.” Delphine answered and the words that came out of her mouth made her stomach turn.

They were getting them back soon.

But it could take months.

It could be on Tuesday or it could be when Theo turned one.

Delphine didn’t know and the thought finally hit her when she pictured their room organized, crib and bed set aside, but with the possibility of Theo and Annie not getting to sleep on them.

She had planned shelves. Shelves that they could fill with children’s books for Annie and cars and little plastic animals for Theo to play with when he’s older. The wooden chest they had imagined to be in the corner of the room would be filled with toys for both of them, but it could also be used as a table if Annie decided she was tired of playing with toys and decided to draw instead.

A lot of possibilities, no certainty.

 “I’m calling them on Monday.” Delphine said abruptly, the smile on her face slowly fading as her thoughts drown her to a world of possibilities where Annie and Theo weren’t in the picture. “To know if we’re approved.”

Cosima bit her bottom lip, her nervousness coming through. She nodded her head and looked down for a second before looking at Delphine again.

They couldn’t lose hope.

“For now, let’s just go home.” She asked.

“Home.” She repeated, her eyes stuck on the road in front of her. She turned the engine on and drove away from the store. “Let’s go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think, what you expect for the future of the fanfic and if you want to say hi my twitter is @tatxmasIany!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Delphine and Cosima receive an unexpected visitor and some news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is my favorite chapter so far! There will be some references to the show, soooo stay tuned for that.

“Good morning! We have a deliver for Delphine Cormier.”

The guy from the shipping company, whose name on his tag was Ralph, rang the doorbell once and Delphine quickly reached the door. It was early, almost too early for a deliver, but neither one of the women could sleep well last night so they’d been up for some time now. They had called Art the day before to warn him they’d take their day off on Monday instead of on Friday so they could organize everything they needed. Considering it was 8AM and the furniture had already arrived, they probably wouldn’t need the whole day and they might get everything done until noon, but something was tickling in Cosima’s head and she thought it might be better to just take the whole day off and not just the morning.

“Good morning! Yeah, where do I sign?” she asked, half the door open but enough for her to see two other men holding huge cardboard boxes wrapped in bubble wrap.

“Here, please.” He pointed to a dotted line on the paper and handed her the pen. As she finished writing her name on it, Cosima reached the door.

“Hi! Please, come in. I’ll show you the way.” Cosima said to the men waiting outside, pointing with her thumb to the stairs.

 ***

“Okay, I have absolutely _no_ idea how to assemble furniture.” Cosima stood in front of the boxes on the floor, her hands resting on her hips and a confused look on her face.

The room was empty, only the bookcase was left. They had cleaned it and took everything out to the basement the day before.

“There’s got to be a user’s guide somewhere.” Delphine kneeled on the floor, searching the boxes for a manual. “Found it!” she held the booklet up, showing it to Cosima.

Delphine started reading the manual as Cosima also kneeled on the floor unwrapping the boxes and taking the pieces out of it. There were little plastic bags with screws and nails and wooden white pieces that Cosima judged was the grail of the crib.

“I have _no_ idea what to do with these.” Cosima held the package in her hands, showing Delphine the amount of screws to put the bed together.

“It would be easier if you helped me read this because it’s _so_ confusing.” Delphine closed her eyes and threw her head back in a signal of frustration.

“Let’s split it. You take the bed and I’ll take the crib.” Cosima proposed.

“I can’t assemble the bed alone and neither can you with the crib. We’ll need help. Let’s just do this bed first and then we do the crib. Get the harder one out of the way, you know?”

“Fine.” Cosima said in response and scooched closer to Delphine to read the manual. “Where do we begin?”

“From the beginning.” Delphine joked, making Cosima roll her eyes. “Which I have no idea where it is.”

“We’re off to a great start.”

 

Two hours later the crib and the bed were assembled and set each one in an opposite, parallel side of the room. Delphine had some scratches on her hand and Cosima tried to take a wood splinter out of her finger. They both were standing on the doorstep, admiring their hard work being paid off, after checking three times if they were steady enough to hold a child without breaking under them.

“What do you think Annie would do if she saw it?” Delphine said quietly, almost in a whisper, without looking away from the room. Cosima turned to face her and smiled before answering.

“ _Can I jump on it?”_ she imitated the girl’s voice and let out a laugh. “Or ‘ _There are no toys for Theo!’”_

Delphine laughed and threw her arm over Cosima’s shoulder, taking advantage of their height difference.

“That is something she would say, indeed.”

“I can’t wait to see this room when it’s ready.” Cosima said.

“But it is. Kind of. We still need to buy sheets and some toys and maybe put a zoo or safari, or I don’t know, a wallpaper to make it look more childish, but-“

“Not what I meant.” Cosima said with a sad smile on her face. Delphine understood. “When it’s ready with the kids in it.”

“Me too, baby.” Delphine answered and kissed Cosima’s head. “Me too.”

Cosima let out a deep sigh before she grabbed the knob and closed the door.

“Monsters Inc.” Cosima said after a moment.

“What?”

“The wallpaper. We should put up a Monsters Inc one.” She explained. “It’s her favorite movie.”

“It’s her favorite movie that also reminds her of her dead mother.”

“I don’t want her to forget about her.” Cosima answered, staring at Delphine’s eyes. The blonde felt the desperation in her eyes.

“We’ll make sure she remembers her,” Delphine cupped Cosima’s face with both of her hands. “but I can’t tell you that she will _never_ forget her because it fades. She’s five and maybe in ten years she’ll still remember her, but maybe she won’t. The image of her mother will fade, just like it happened to me. We can put the Monsters Inc wallpaper up, but it might make her frustrated or mad or make her sad because it was her favorite movie with her mother and she’s not here anymore.”

Cosima looked down at her own feet and bit her bottom lip. Delphine noticed the mix of emotions coming from the brunette and lifted Cosima’s face again. She wished she could erase every bad feeling Cosima was having right now or even so give her some kind of comfort, but she knew she couldn’t. This is the only thing she knew she wouldn’t be able to help Cosima because there is no way to stop it. It wouldn’t stop unless Elena came back from the dead and make Annie happy again and that wasn’t going to happen.

“We can look for the wallpaper today, if you want to.” Delphine said smoothly, with a smirk on her face.

“You’re right.” Cosima said. “The memory will fade. Jesus, I can barely remember what I did last week, let alone something from when I was a child…We’ll talk to her about her mother and she will tell us stories and, in the future, if she asks us about it, we can tell her so the memory doesn’t fade completely.”

“Yeah, that’s what my _maman_ did to me and Louise. I still remember some of the things because _maman_ told us, from our own stories, about her. Her image is faded though. Her face is just a blur, but I still have the memories.”

Cosima just listened to the blond talk, paying attention to each word.

Memory. Memories.

“Toy Story.” She said. Delphine frowned and tilted her head to the side. “It’s still Disney related and you know she loves Disney. And it’s genderless.”

“I love it.” Delphine said with a smile.

“New memories.” Cosima said in response, smiling at the woman in front of her.

“You’re going to be a great mom.” Delphine said playing with one of Cosima’s dreadlocks.

“No, you are!” Cosima’s face flushed and she gave Delphine a quick kiss on the corner of her mouth.

They went downstairs in a comfortable silence before Cosima broke it as they got to the kitchen.

“We can dress them as Jessie and Woody for Halloween!”

“Or Jessie and Buzz! Theo would look so cute in a Buzz Lightyear costume with those chubby cheeks… Oh, _mon Dieu!_ ” Delphine cupped her own cheeks with her hands as the image of Annie and Theo dressed up as the characters came up in her head. “We would need to buy spray paint to make Annie’s hair look red because Jessie is a ginger.”

“Delphine!” Cosima shouted. Delphine chuckled as she filled a cup with water. “We are most definitely _not_ painting our kid’s hair with spray paint! Those things can give her rashes, allergies or even water blisters!”

Delphine stopped for a second and almost choked. _Did she just? Did she-_

“Wait, what did you just say?” Delphine muffled a cough.

“That we’re not painting—”

“No, after that.”

“Ou—”

Another ring on the doorbell made Delphine’s eyebrows knit together in a confused expression and Cosima stare at the door blankly.

“Did they forget something?” Delphine said quietly as she made her way to the door, referring to the guys who delivered the furniture. It was two hours ago, so it couldn’t be.

“I haven’t heard any thuds upstairs so the beds are still standing. I don’t think there’s any missing piece.” Cosima walked from behind the counter, following Delphine’s steps.

“Maybe a paper or something?” Delphine said with a shrug and Cosima raised her eyebrows and hummed a “ _hm.._ ” in a “ _may be_ ” kind of response.

She grabbed the knob and opened the door to see a formally dressed woman with some papers in hand.

“Hi! May I help you?” Delphine said kindly. The woman in front of her opened a gentle smile.

“Hi, I’m Alex and I’m looking for Delphine Cormier and Cosima Niehaus?”

“That’s us. What can we help you with?”

“I’m from Children’s Services. I’m here to do the pre-adopting home study. I tried to call but no one picked up.”

Cosima’s face went pale as she had just seen a ghost. Delphine gulped down and glanced up at Cosima. The brunette was freaking out inside and Delphine swore she saw a tremble in her hands.

“Oh, sure! I’m so sorry, come in.” Delphine made room for the woman and closed the door behind her as soon as she was inside.

“You don’t need to be worried or nervous, ok? It’s just a check-up. I’m going to ask you a few questions and then I’ll ask you to show me around. Is that okay?”

“Perfect.” Cosima smiled gently and pointed to the couch. “Please, sit, make yourself comfortable. Can I offer you something to drink?”

“Water would be good, thank you.” She answered as she sat on the couch. Delphine made her way to grab a cup and a bottle of cold water from the fridge.

“So, let’s get it over with.” Alex put her glasses on that were hanging on a little rope on her neck and picked up a pen from the clipboard on her hands. “So, tell me about your daily routine. How’s your job and the distribution of your time?”

“Well, we work together at the Toronto Police Department in the Forensics. We analyze clothes and other evidence that are found at crime scenes.” Cosima started, gesticulating with her hands in a failed attempt to explain it better.

“We spent most of our time there and we have a day off every week. We don’t work on weekends or do extra shifts. The ordinary, eight hours a day.” The blonde said.

Delphine was trying so hard to hide her nervousness and it was working, but Cosima knew better. The blonde was terrified. She knew it because her thumb was circling the knuckle of her other thumb and that was a signal that she was nervous or scared. Maybe now she was both.

“Okay. And do you have any contact or familiarity with children?”

“Not really at the moment, no.” Delphine said, “but I do have a younger sister.”

Her mind was battling. _Should she tell her about her own adoption and what she had went through with Louise? Would it make a good impression or make things worse?_

“I used to take care of her since she was two. We, um, we lost our parents at a really young age so we went to a foster care.” She explained. Cosima turned to face her and knowing it was a hard subject for Delphine to talk about to this day, she reached over and took her hand in hers. “Even after we were adopted, I was the one who took care of her, so yeah, I’m familiar with children’s needs and all.”

“Oh, really? That’s actually interesting and very good to know beforehand.” Alex raised her eyebrows and smiled. “So, did you have a good relationship with your parents? The question goes for both of you.”

“Yes.” They both answered at the same time. “You can go first.” Cosima said.

“Well, I could say that. Even before I was adopted my home environment was filled with nothing but love. My mother and my father weren’t aggressive and didn’t express anger towards us from what I can remember.” Delphine explained.

“Same with me. My parents were always careful with swear words and dealt with anger the best way possible. I also have two sisters and a brother.” Cosima answered.

“And where did you grow up?” Alex questioned without taking her eyes off the clipboard. She didn’t seem to be writing the whole time, most checking boxes, it appeared to be so.

“I grew up in France, I came here with my sister when I was 18.”

“And I grew up here in Toronto.”

 

The questioning went on from what seemed to be hours when Alex finally seemed to reach the end of her endless pages and stood up.

“Well, I think I got everything I need here. Can you show me around?”

“Sure! This way.” Cosima stood up abruptly and lead the way until the kitchen.

The woman observed everything around. She took notes on what she saw in each room of the house and it was making Delphine more nervous than she already was. Cosima had just given up. Sure, she was nervous, but it wouldn’t make a difference if she was or not. At the end of the day, the future of their kids was on Alex’s hands. So, she just let it be. It didn’t mean she wasn’t scared though, because she was.

Cosima’s bare feet led them up to the rooms upstairs. Luckily, they had cleaned the cardboard boxes and the bubble wrap and put the tools in the tool box as soon as they finished it to cleanse the space.

“Here is the kids’ room.” Delphine said as she opened the door, showing the bed and the crib. Cosima looked around and saw a piece of cardboard on the floor. She shoved it behind the door with her foot without Alex noticing. “It’s not done yet. We’re waiting for the closet and the toys to be delivered.” She lied.

“And right next to their room is ours.”

Cosima glanced up at the clipboard on Alex’s hand and saw her checking a box with the word “tidy” in front of it. She let out a sigh in relief and finished showing her the rest of the house.

 

 

“Alright, my job here is done. I’m going to send these papers to the office so they can analyze it and they’ll tell you as soon as possible. After they’re ready, they’ll set a date for court, before everything is officialized.” Alex said as they walked her out. “But don’t worry, okay? I usually don’t do this, but from everything I’ve seen you both seem pretty good candidates and parents, too. No need to be nervous.” She said pointedly to Delphine but with a gentle smile.

“I am not.” She tried to disguise but failed.

“You are. Since the moment I rang that doorbell you’ve been picking the sides of your thumb and biting your bottom lip.” She said, making Delphine stop peeling her bottom lip, a movement she didn’t realize she was doing until it was pointed out. “It’s okay to be anxious and I know my visit is kind of a big deal for both of you, but it will be fine. My part is the easiest, for you, for me and for the adoption process as a whole. Court is the hardest one, but I’m sure you’ll be just fine.”

Cosima and Delphine both nodded and smiled at her. Both of them were terrified about going to court. For a moment they forgot about it, but now that she mentioned it they were even more scared.

“Thank you.” The brunette said.

“You’ll receive a call, not from me, with the response. It won’t take more than three days.”

“Okay. Thank you again.” Delphine answered. Alex smiled and nodded her head in response.

The women saw Alex’s car disappear on the road ahead. Cosima’s hand pushed against Delphine’s back, leading the woman back inside and closed the door behind her.

“That was intense.” Cosima said. “We were not ready for that… Jesus.”

“That’s kind of what they do. They don’t give us a warning like, ‘ _hey, we’re coming to see if you’re suitable to be a parent today!’_ before they actually come. She was even thoughtful to call…” Delphine said as she sat on the counter. “I thought I was going to peel my whole finger off.” Delphine said, staring at her, now very bruised and red, thumb.

“My heart can’t handle it, I swear to God. I almost had a heart attack.” Cosima said, hopping on the counter next to Delphine. She glanced down at Delphine’s hands and saw the bruises and her bleeding thumb. “I told you to stop doing that. It hurts.” Cosima took Delphine’s hands on hers.

Delphine widened her eyes raising her eyebrows. “Yeah, tell me about it.” She let out a small laugh. “You know I can’t help it when I’m nervous.”

“You’re the cutest when you’re nervous, did you know that?” Cosima teased, “your eyes, like, pop out and you look like a puppy.”

Delphine raised her eyebrows and started tickling Cosima’s ribs, which caused the woman to lose balance and almost fall from the counter.

“Look what you did! I could’ve broken an arm! Or even worse, like my neck!” Cosima said, her voice high pitched, as she held tight to Delphine’s arms, the sound of the blonde’s laugh filling the place.

“ _Pauvre petit chiot._ ” Delphine teased.

“ _You_ are the puppy.” Cosima smiled and connected their lips together.

 

**5 DAYS LATER**

“They’re not going to call. That’s it. We lost them. I knew that woman didn’t like me from the very start. Did you see the way she looked at me?”

Cosima had been rambling since the moment they left their beds that morning. Five days had passed since Alex had come to do the home study and Cosima was losing her mind. She was already preparing herself for the worse. Alex said it would be three days and now they were up to five and nothing. No letter, no call, nor even smoke signal. Being at work usually was distracting enough for Cosima, but not today. Not this week.

They didn’t have much to do at work that day. The city was calm and, happily, no accidents or hate crimes had been reported during the Pride Parade on the weekend. All they had left to do was some blood identification and doing a match test on some evidence found to some missing people and that was about it.

Delphine put the papers down purposely to make a sound. Cosima turned to face her. “Cosima!”

“What!?”

“The rambling. The ‘ _everyone hates me’_ speech? What have we talked about?” Delphine reprimanded. Cosima knit her eyebrows together in madness.

“I’m sorry if I’m _worried._ ”

“You can be worried all you want, as long as it doesn’t involve feelings the rest of the world doesn’t have against you!” Delphine stated. “It doesn’t even make any sense. They’re calling us either way, to say we’re fit or not. Give them some time to read the study Alex did. She wrote _a lot._ ”

“What if she wrote that she hated me and my guts and that we’re not fit to be parents because I have, I don’t know, glasses or something.” Cosima threw her hands up, gesticulating as she spoke. “ _Can’t even see straight, how is she going to look over two children?_ ”

“You’re really scaring me right now.” Delphine laughed. If the situation wasn’t worrisome, it was hilarious to say the least. “She loved you. Us. She even told us that they were calling in a few days. She said she never does that.”

“Yeah, well, she lied. She said three days and it’s been five.” Cosima said, nonchalantly. She rested her elbows on the table and let her head fall down on her hands. “I need coffee.”

Cosima stood up to go to the cafeteria to get a cup of the largest, strongest coffee they had.

“No, you don’t.” Delphine shouted. “You’re unstoppable without caffeine, imagine the things you’d ramble about with it in your blood current.”

“I’m not unstoppable! I’m just fine.”

“Cosima, you just kept talking for five straight minutes. If you have coffee right now you’re going to have a heart attack.” Cosima snorted and rolled her eyes. She knew Delphine was right. She was too hyped right now.

“Fine. I’m going to get an orange juice then.”

“Fine.” Delphine said, watching the brunette walking out. “Hey, babe?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you bring me an expresso?”

“I’m going to seriously murder you today.” Cosima made fists with her hands and closed her eyes tightly. “You owe me _so much._ ”

“ _Je t’aime!_ ” Delphine shouted and blew her a kiss.

“Don’t speak French to me, I’m super mad at you!” Cosima shouted back. She hated how Delphine could make her heart melt just by saying some – or any – words in French to her. She took a deep breath and replied before she walked out of the room. “I love you too.”

Cosima ran down to the cafeteria quickly and came back with her hands full. A cup tray with her juice, Delphine’s expresso and a paper bag full of chocolate chip cookies. Just a quick elevator ride and in a matter of minutes she was back, stopping here and there to talk to Art or the other detectives and feed them some new info on the evidence they were looking at.

The brunette fixed her gaze on the tray in her hands, trying not to spill everything on the floor. She entered the room and heard Delphine’s voice. She looked up and saw the blonde on the phone, her skin was even paler than it already was.

“Yeah… I get it.” Delphine’s voice was sultry since she was inside the lab with the door closed.

Cosima stood up in place, just watching Delphine’s expressions and trying to lip read. The blonde seemed to notice her presence and looked up, no change in her expression. She nodded again and looked down, resting her head on her hand.

 _Oh, no,_ Cosima thought.

_Please._

_I can’t move._

_I need to go in there. Why are my legs not working?! Damn it! Stupid Sympathetic Nervous System!_

Cosima got out from her own thoughts and directed her attention back to Delphine. She was crying.

The image of the blonde hanging up the phone seemed to occur in slow motion.

Delphine slowly came out of the room, approaching Cosima and taking the tray off her immobile hands.

“It was Children’s Services.” Delphine said.

Her voice was weak and threatened to break at some point of that short sentence. Her hands were shaking and cold as a metal table from inside that freezing room behind her. Cosima noticed how her neck muscles were tense and how her breathing was irregular.

 _An indication that it was not good news_.

“And?” it was all Cosima could formulate. She gulped down as she saw the blonde in front of her start to tear up.

“We’re approved.” She blurted it out, letting the tears roll freely down her face as a magical smile appeared. “We still need to go to court, though, but… We are bringing our kids home.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where they're still trying to understand everything that's going on and some tears might come out at the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Has anyone asked for a little bit of drama? Well, there you go...

“Wait, what?”

It took a moment for Cosima to process what she had just heard.

Their application got approved. Annie and Theo were coming home.

“Camila just called. They approved our home study and now we just have to go over to the head office and sign some papers, go to court and then, when everything is settled, we can pick them up.” Delphine said it all too fast and tripped on her own words as she spoke.

“Are you serious? Because if you’re joking I swear to God—”

“Cosima!” Delphine reprimanded. She held out her shaking hands in front of her. “Look at my hands. I’m a nervous wreck. Do you think I’m joking?”

Cosima slightly shook her head no, almost imperceptible. She didn’t even realize her breath was uncontrolled until she had to inhale deeply and exhale calmly in order to normalize it again. Her facial muscles were trying so hard to contract and form a smile but it was like something was holding them back.

“Just like that?” the brunette asked, her eyebrows furrowed in a confused expression.

“It appears so. We need to go there, though. Camila said she wouldn’t be able to explain it in details for us and set the court date in a phone call.”

“Now?”

“Well, we have 45 minutes before we’re finished for the day so I thought we could finish those samples and then we’re free to go.” Delphine said, pointing to the plastic test tube rack with some test tubes filled with different types of blood.

“Okay, let’s do it.” Cosima said in a breath. “Oh, my God. We have _so much_ to do.”

Delphine turned to face Cosima as they entered the lab again. “What do you mean?”

“I know we decided we would only go shopping when they came back so Annie could pick her new clothes and help pick Theo’s toys but there is a lot of things we need!” Cosima shouted, her voice going two octaves higher, causing Delphine to laugh nervously at her girlfriend’s breakdown.

Cosima sat down in front of her own microscope and pivoted on her revolving chair so she could face the blonde behind her. Her elbows were resting on the table as she pressed the fingertips of her index and middle fingers against her temples.

Delphine watched the scene with her arms crossed in front of her chest and a raised eyebrow. She knew they needed to do the rest – and by rest she meant _everything_ – but it was just some shopping. It wasn’t that hard. Was it?

“We need bedding sets for the baby and for Annie, bottles for Theo. We need a car seat! We don’t have a car seat, Delphine. How are we supposed to transport our children safely if we don’t have a safe car seat?!”

“We really need to work on whatever this is.” Delphine gesticulated her hands in circular movements, holding back a chuckle. “You can’t keep losing your mind every time, babe.”

“I’m sorry, it’s… It’s just… Too much. It’s a lot of things we need to do before our kids come home.” She blurted out. “But we can do it, right?”

“We sure can.” Delphine smiled to Cosima before she picked up another test tube and, with the help of a cotton swab, dropped another blood drop on the slide. She pushed the piece under the lenses again and placed her eyes on the microscope.

The room was silent for a moment, but Delphine’s mind was crazy.

She hadn’t thought about court this whole time. She didn’t really remember how it was when they went to court, only that it was cold and raining. The judge said some words that were way beyond her knowledge and she just sat there, holding her sister’s hand until the judge hit the table with a wooden hammer and they were free to go. It wasn’t as terrifying for her as it was for her parents. She realized that now.

So many things going on at the same time and her focus wasn’t even completely on the test in front of her, or even in court, but on that word Cosima kept saying without noticing.

“I love how you keep saying _our_ kids unconsciously.” Delphine glanced at Cosima’s face and saw a smile forming.

“It just comes out so easily,” she said in response with a shrug. “So right, you know?”

“Yeah, I get it. It’s weird. In my head we’re only picking them up from a weekend off, but I know they weren’t always there. But somewhere in my subconscious they were.” Delphine got confused in her own words and it showed on her face that kept twisting as she rambled. “The brain is a tricky thing.”

“But it’s beautiful once you figure it all out.” Cosima said with a smile. Delphine tilted her head a little to the side. The brunette pointed to herself with her hands. “Degree in Neurophysiology?”

“Geek monkey”

“Petit chiot.”

 

***

Cosima reached for Delphine’s hand on the gear and rubbed it softly. “Delphine, slow down. You’re going too fast and I’m about to throw up.”

“I’m going 60km/h on an 80km/h, babe. I think you’re nervous.” Delphine said, moving her hand to grab Cosima’s. “Your hands are freezing cold and it’s hot out. See?”

Cosima was pale and her lips were colorless and dry. She felt her stomach turn twice in a thirty-second gap. Delphine was really worried that something was off with Cosima. She was the one with the worst health and that was for certain, but she didn’t use to get sick like that, just colds and coughs and that was it.

“Are you okay? I can pull over if you want, but we’re almost there. Five more minutes.”

“I’m fine, I’ll just pour this whole bottle of water down my throat.”

Cosima reached for the water bottle and sipped on it before closing it and placing the bottle in the same spot as before. The brunette couldn’t understand how Delphine didn’t express any reaction or even feelings about everything that was going on. Sure, she had been through it once so she knew what to expect and how to react most of the times, but it still didn’t explain why Cosima was always the one panicking over the situation.

Delphine glanced at Cosima to find her playing with her knuckles with the tip of her index finger. She kept making it jump over each one of them, like it was a kid jumping on rocks, trying not to fall into the river that was filled with alligators. The blonde knew it was a habit for every time Cosima got frustrated or annoyed by something. Just like a child she would shut down, make a fist and play with her knuckles.

“I’m nervous, too. Like, if I move my head too fast I’ll get so dizzy that I might throw up.” Delphine let out a nervous chuckle without taking her eyes off the road. Cosima lightened up a little before she turned her head up to look at Delphine.

“You absolutely don’t appear to be.” Cosima gave the blonde a small, almost invisible, smile and started to observe her.

And then she saw it. The tense muscles, her hands gripping the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles were even more white than her skin already was. The little spasms in her neck muscles.

“That’s good, I guess. You’re the controlled one in this relationship.” She added.

“I guess I learned how to keep things to myself because of Louise.” She said in a whisper and then realized how wrong that came out. “No, not like that. I mean… When we were kids we spent a lot of time in the foster care. And then my _maman_ adopted us. But I was still confused about it all and I didn’t completely trust them at first, you know?”

“You were a kid. It’s normal.”

“I know that now. Even though _maman_ tried to talk to me about what I was feeling I couldn’t tell her for some time. I had to keep it all together by myself so I could help Louise cope with all that was happening.” She explained, feeling the knot forming on her throat. “So, when we grew up and understood all of it and she no longer needed me to be ‘her rock’, I still didn’t know how to express what I was feeling because I was so used not to. That’s why I always seem to be calm and everything but I’m broken in pieces inside.”

Cosima’s face dropped and she felt a stung in her stomach. She was being selfish and if she had paid a little bit more of attention to the signs she would’ve seen how this is affecting Delphine too.

The insomnia she’s been having since the day they left.

The way her whole body seemed to change whenever they called Maria and spoke to Annie or how she’d try so hard not to cry when she put Theo to sleep when they went to visit.

How her whole face was begging not to buy the Monsters Inc. wallpaper for their bedroom because it would remind Annie of her mother and the possibility of that hurting the little girl or making her confused hurt her because she was that confused kid who had to be strong for two.

She knew it would all be too confusing for them because it was her in Annie’s place once and it was Louise who was the baby sibling. And, for what it seemed, Delphine hadn’t learned how to let that part of her life go, even though everything is fine now. She never really learned how to cope.

Cold fingertips touched Delphine’s leg and her muscles relaxed. “I’m here for you.” Cosima whispered, not taking her eyes off the blonde. Her fingers started to gently draw circles on the bare skin. “I’m so sorry for everything. I’ve been losing it more often and I didn’t see that you were suffering too. I’m here for you, to help you cope, to mend your pieces back together. That is, if you want me to.”

Delphine pulled over in front of the office and stared at Cosima. Her eyes were filled with tears that were stubborn enough not to escape. Delphine’s index finger touched Cosima’s chin slowly and brought it up and closer to her face to connect their lips quickly.

“If it’s not you I don’t want anybody else.”

***

The temperature in the room was cold enough to make Delphine’s legs shiver. The marble floor and the smell of old wooden furniture gave a sophisticated and antiquated look to the place. They saw a table in the corner and a woman writing something down on a paper, her face hidden behind the computer’s screen. Neither of them was wearing heels, but the tapping sound coming from their boots made the woman at the desk look up from the papers and welcome them with a smile.

“Hello, my name is Siobhan Sadler! How can I help you?” her voice was soft and her eyes were the shiniest green Cosima ever saw.

“Hi! Uhm, we got a call from Camila about the adoption process. She said we needed to come down here.” Delphine said nervously. Cosima noticed it now, how she was playing with the lose skin she had tried to peel off on the corner of her fingers.

“Oh, right! I’ll walk you to her office.” She stood up and the sound of her heels on the floor made Delphine even more anxious. “Please, follow me.”

The place was huge, so they had turned a lot of rights and lefts before they got to a big, woodened door with a sign that read _Camila Tremblay – Children’s Services_ on it.  Siobhan knocked three times before they heard a _“come in!”_ behind it. She opened the door and the older woman signed for them to go in.

Cosima took a quick glance at the woman’s hand and, when she saw no ring, she thanked her. “Thank you, Ms. Sadler!”

“You’re very welcome.”

The door closed behind them and Cosima felt a cold wave hitting her stomach. Camila looked up from her papers and gave them a warm smile.

“Oh, hello there, you two. Come, sit.” She pointed to the leather chairs in front of her desk. “First of all, congratulations! How are you feeling?”

“Nervous.” Cosima answered causing Camila to chuckle. They made their way and sat quietly, almost like they were scared.

“But, also, immensely happy.” Delphine’s hands were cold as Cosima took them in their own and squeezed it lightly.

“That’s great! I’m so happy for you.” Both women mouthed a thank you in between smiles. “So, seems like everything is okay. You just have to sign some papers and I’ll give you some orientations before I give you a green light. Let me just grab your file and we’re good to continue.”

There were at least 20 other files in that drawer. Camila kept swiping them until she reached one that read _Cormier; Niehaus_ in a tag glued to the cover.

“Ok, let’s get this thing started,” Camila said as she opened their file. The first page was the one they had filled out when she came to take the kids to the foster care. “or finished. Anyways, shall we?”

 

They talked for what seemed to be hours. Cosima’s back was already hurting of sitting in the same position. Even though they were approved now, she, as a person who hardly stays in the same spot for long, didn’t want to move much because she didn’t want Camila to know how nervous she was. Delphine didn’t mind, it was like her body had a life of its own and she couldn’t keep herself quiet for a second. When she wasn’t picking her fingers, her legs wouldn’t stop bouncing up and down. Or both, at the same time.

Delphine tried to pay as much attention as she could to what Camila was saying but she couldn’t. The first ten minutes – that lasted for about an hour and a half in Delphine’s mind – she was okay. It was like, all of a sudden, she had photographic memory and memorized everything the woman said to her. She knew Cosima was too anxious to pay attention to anything and how hard she was trying not to move to pass a good impression and it actually made Delphine want to laugh.

Delphine didn’t know she could be that nervous when Camila put the papers in front of her and Cosima and laid a pen on it. She thought she couldn’t raise her hands up from her lap or even hold the pen because she was shaking too much. Cosima took the pen and slid the paper until she was able to read what was written on it and signed it.

She hesitantly looked at Delphine and gave her a reassuring smile before she slid it back to the blonde. Delphine took the pen and saw Cosima’s signature on a dotted line, right above her typed name. A little bit to the left was her name and a dotted line, just waiting to be signed over.

Then she wrote her name.

And just like that they were done. After a month of running around, picking up documents and papers they didn’t even know existed and delivering it to Camila. Sometimes the papers weren’t even the right ones, and there they were again, redoing all of that.

“Okay, everything is done now. We just need to set a court date and then, if everything goes as planned, you’re ready to pick them up.” Camila checked their signatures before she put the folder in a pile with other folders. “Usually I come along to help with the kids, but I don’t think that’ll be necessary in your case, so whenever you want to.”

“As soon as possible?” Cosima stated, more like of a question. She was scared to death to face a judge. She didn’t really deal nicely with people in superior positions.

“Well, you can go tomorrow, if you want to. In the morning.” Camila said, checking on her agenda. “You’ll need to bring a witness, though. Since you’re not legally married. I mean, on paper.”

Cosima glanced at Delphine, begging for help. She didn’t know what to do.

“Ok, tomorrow is good.” Delphine answered and Cosima sighed heavily.

“I’ll be there with you, so don’t worry.” Camila said.

“They will be there, too?” Cosima asked.

“Louise and I were there. The Social Assistant took us, but the judge spoke to me, only.” Delphine replied to Cosima and then turned to Camila. “Does it still apply?” Camila answered with a nod.

“I’ll submit their new birth certificates and then, if the judge approves, he’ll just sign them and then everything is fine. But we do need them to be ready by the time you’re in court.” Camila explained and they just nodded.

“I’ll give Maria a call then.” She said with a light smile. “Their new birth certificates will be ready by then and by far everything seems to be okay, but if there’s anything unforeseen, I’ll call you and let you know.”

 

A phone call and thirty more minutes later they were walking out of Camila’s office and headed to the front door. They waved Siobhan goodbye and Delphine grabbed Cosima’s hand unexpectedly. She took a long, deep breath and Cosima turned to face her with the rays of the sundown hitting her face.

“You okay?” she asked, wrapping her arm around her waist, not letting go of her intertwined fingers.

“Yeah, now I am. Kind of. Just scared for court, that’s all.”

Rays of light hit Delphine’s face and her eyes were shining beautifully like they were honey spheres. The blonde smiled at her and at that very moment she was sure her heart had burst in her chest. Cosima wondered if there was anyone luckier than her and when she felt Delphine’s lips on hers, she knew there wasn’t. She had the most beautiful woman as her lover and the most precious kids now. _What did I do to deserve this life?,_ she thought before she let herself be lost in the blonde’s lips.

They parted and kept walking until they got to the car. Once inside and with their seat belts buckled, Delphine turned the engine on. “We better hurry because we have to get everything set before they come.”

“If you keep going 50 on an 80 road we won’t be able to make it in time.”

“I wasn’t going 50! It was 65.”

“Fast as a snail.” Cosima mocked. “Just let me drive.”

“Absolutely not! Last time I let you near this steering wheel we got three tickets for speeding. Three.”

“I like adventures!”

“And I like my life. And now we have two more to take care of so I’d like to stay alive for that, thank you very much.” She went on the road. The dashboard showed 70km/h on it. “I’m driving. You grab your phone and make the list.”

 

***

 

“I see the building!” Cosima squealed like a child on her seat, pointing to the tall building meters away.

Delphine chuckled. “Excited as a child.”

Cosima hit Delphine’s arm gently. “Fuck off.”

“Did you add everything to the list? Bedding sets, toys, diapers, bottles?”

“And remedies, clothing, baby bathtub… yes, I added everything.”

“What would I do without you?” Delphine said as she parked the car in the parking lot.

 

This was a new mall and it had all kinds of stores in it. Cosima was really hungry by the time they got there so they decided to grab a bite of real food – and not just cookies and orange juice – before they started they haul. In thirty minutes, they ate and were already walking down the halls.

The sign hanging on top of the door was a baby in a crawling position, its back exposed and a diaper, which was also being used as the sign of the store. Delphine stared at it for a second before breaking in laughter.

“What’s so funny about it?” Cosima let go of their entwined fingers and stepped forward.

“It’s a baby’s butt whose diaper is a store sign.”

Cosima rolled her eyes before entering the store. “And _I_ am the child.”

The endless options of bedding sets were driving Cosima crazy. There were plain, white ones, light blue with cars on it for crib sized mattresses and light purple with flowers and little dolls on it for kid sized mattresses. They didn’t want to make their room look like a mess of colors and shapes, but they were kids after all.

But something at the corner of the store caught Cosima’s attention. It was a onesie of a bunny. It was the cutest thing Cosima had laid eyes on since she got here.

“Do you think they have those in Annie’s size?” Cosima whispered to Delphine as she picked between light pink sheets with daisies and a light purple with smiley cats on it.

“The bunny onesie?” she asked.

“Yeah. She would look so cute in those.” Cosima answered, looking at the fabric in front of them. “The pink one.”

“Really? I liked the cats.”

“She loves flowers.” Cosima said. “Remember when she picked up that sunflower at the park? She said she loved them because they were pretty and yellow. Well, this one has yellow on it.”

“Oh, yeah, I remember it now.” Delphine smiled at the memory. “Your memory is gold, babe.”

“I take my vitamins.” she shrugged with a little smirk on her face.

“Hey, do you have that onesie in a size for a 5-year-old?” Delphine asked the employee and saw the woman coming moments after with a lot of plastic bags.

“We do.” She put a lot of different types of onesies in front of them. “And since you have a 6-months-old baby, I thought you might want one for him too.”

“Seven.” Cosima whispered. The woman couldn’t hear her, but Delphine did and glanced down at the woman. “He’s seven now. It’s been a month.” She quickly stopped talking as she saw what had been put in front of her. “Oh, my God, a zebra onesie? Babe, can you picture Theo in this? He’d look so freaking cute. We have to take it.”

Delphine stopped for a second to try to picture Theo wearing that black and white onesie and the image popping up in her head made her heart melt.

“We’ll take it.” Delphine said to the woman, who was happy to add another item to their basket. She chuckled at the thought that came into her mind. “A bunny, a zebra, a monkey and a puppy. I think we’re turning into a zoo.”

“Whatever it is, it’s _ours._ Yours and mine. Together.”

“Our zoo.”

 

 Their bags ended up being filled with one of each sheet set. They also found some of the other things such as bottles and pacifiers, which they also bought more than one of each. The toys they had bought, especially the rattle, were jingling with each step they took. It was kind of funny at first, but now Delphine was starting to get really annoyed by it.

“Did we get everything?” Cosima asked, looking down at their full hands and arms.

“I think we got more than we needed in the first place.” Delphine answered through her annoyance. “But we still didn’t buy the wallpaper. You said you wanted to put it up.”

Cosima put on a tired face and pouted. “Oh, right. But if we’re buying it, can we make it quickly? My arms are about to give up.”

“Imagine if you were carrying Theo while holding these bags. This is what will happen when we need to go grocery shopping. Hold babies and bags. At the same time.” Delphine said as she led the way to a decorating store.

“I might need to join the gym, then.” Cosima said. “My muscles aren’t ready.”

“They better be by tomorrow.” Delphine said and suddenly the cold in her stomach was there again. An involuntarily smile grew on her face. Cosima’s smile grew, also involuntarily, when she saw the glow on Delphine’s face.

They entered the room and all the walls were filled with rolls with wallpapers on them. There were so many, of all types, sizes, colors. Cosima couldn’t decide where to look for a moment, until she laid eyes on what she was looking for.

“Hey, do you have any Disney themed wallpapers? It’s for our kid’s room.” Delphine asked the lady who nicely approached them, not noticing Cosima had already found it and was now staring at it, picturing how the room would look with Jessie, Buzz Lightyear and Woody all over the walls.

“We do have them, yes.” the small lady, in her 40s, maybe, led the way to the corner where Cosima had been staring the whole time. “Is it a boy or a girl? Or maybe both?”

“Both.” Delphine said. She glanced at Cosima and saw how distracted she was, probably with their whole talk going through her head again. Delphine turned to the lady standing beside her. “The _Toy Story_ one. We’ll take that one.”

“Great! How much will you need?”

Cosima’s phone rang on her pocket and it took a while until she took it out and slide right to answer. She barely managed to keep the phone in hands and not let it fall on the floor.

“Hello?”

_“Hi, Cosima?”_ Cosima heard Camila’s voice and immediately noticed she was apprehensive. _“It’s Camila. I’m afraid I have some news.”_

Delphine touched Cosima’s shoulder to let her know she was going to pay for the wallpaper and would come back in a second. Cosima just nodded and walked away until she was out of the store again.

“Hi! Did something bad happen?”

_“I’m afraid so. I was sending their birth certificates for approval, but Annie’s got denied.”_

Time had frozen at that moment and Cosima saw everything in slow motion. She had to fight so hard so her legs wouldn’t fail.

“But why? You said everything was in the right direction!” she tried not to sound bitter, but the fear was clear on her voice.

_“I know and it was, really. But when I submitted it, I got a message from the notary’s office saying that they couldn’t complete hers because she wasn’t born here.”_

Delphine grabbed Cosima’s arm gently to get her attention. She was staring blankly at the floor, which made Delphine confused.

“What happened?” she mouthed. “Are you okay?”

Cosima nodded and went back to paying attention to what Camila was saying.

It was making Delphine anxious to just see the woman’s face drop more every second. She thought it was maybe her mother calling or one of her sisters, but her gaze was fixed in one spot, a trick that Delphine knew she did sometimes when she was trying not to cry.

Cosima nodded lightly a few times. “Yeah, I get it. We’ll be waiting. Thanks.”

She hung up the phone and stared at the phone in her hands for a moment before she faced Delphine and swallowed down the knot forming on her throat.

“There’s a problem with Annie’s documents.” She said, trying her best so her voice wouldn’t crack. “Theo’s is fine, but her birth certificate couldn’t be completed because she wasn’t born here.”

“What?” Delphine’s eyebrows knit together in a confused expression. She touched Cosima’s back gently.

“Theo’s new birth certificate is fine, there was no problem because he was born here.” Cosima explained. “But Annie wasn’t, she was born in Colombia. So, when they went to finish hers, it got denied. Camila couldn’t tell me exactly why because the notary’s office wouldn’t tell her over the phone, so she’s going down there tomorrow. It looks like it’s some Colombia’s bureaucracy. She said it might take up to three days until they get it normalized and her new birth certificate is fixed.”

Delphine's lips trembled. The back of her eyes stung and she cursed mentally for being so emotional. She fought so hard with her own demons to make everything right and not rush things because this was really personal to her, because those kids deserved to be okay again. They deserved to stay out of that toxic place that is the System.

But now the sting she felt in her chest when she put all the puzzle pieces together wasn't going to leave soon. She knew what was coming. She was there once. The hope they had given to Annie was now decreasing slowly, right in front of her eyes, and she couldn't do anything to stop it from fading.

“So, what you’re saying is…”

Cosima could hear Delphine’s heart breaking into a million pieces inside her chest and she wished she could do something to mend it back together.

She knew she was hurting and she hadn’t finished explaining all of it.

She didn’t need to.

But she did.

“What I’m saying is that, if everything works out tomorrow with the judge, we’re legally Theo’s parents now, but not Annie’s.” she said in a breath. “We can bring Theo home tomorrow, but Annie has to stay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what your thoughts are! It's really important for me as an author and just so I know where I'm at with the storyline. Thank you all for reading and see you soon :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They go back to Camila's office to see what's going on. Maybe there's a fight. A big one. Maybe.

It wasn't right. They were supposed to be heading home and putting up wallpapers and shelves and putting toys on top of it. They should be washing the bottles because that's what you do when you get new baby bottles - you wash them to get rid of germs and bacteria. At least that’s what Cosima had read once in a baby book and she’s sure Delphine told her at some point. The laundry machine should be filled with their new sheets and onesies by now so they're clean tomorrow, when they arrive.

Except they're not.

Not yet.

Annie is not theirs. Theo is. They're siblings. It's cruel to separate them. They’re not arriving tomorrow.

 

Some of the bags were filling up one side of the back seat while two huge boxes containing car seats took most of the space. Cosima had the toys and the wallpaper bags on the floor, between her feet. Her gaze was fixed on Jessie and Buzz stamped on the thin, plastic paper.

She wondered how it would look on the wall. Should them put only on one of the walls? Or all of them? Just a strip or half-up? The paper was light blue with white clouds on it. Woody was holding the tip of his cowboy hat, Jessie had that smirk on her face and Buzz was clearly flying, or trying to, but he couldn't because he's a toy. Not real. She chuckled at her own thoughts. _It's a kids' cartoon, Cosima. Stop that nonsense._

Delphine snapped her thumb and middle finger together to get her attention. "Cosima? Have you been listening to a word I'm saying?"

"I'm sorry. I got distracted." She apologized, looking up from the bags. "What were you saying?"

"I asked you if you're scared." The blonde said more quietly now, looking back at the road.

The sun wasn't hitting her face anymore, the moonlight was starting to take its place. The road was darker and it was almost too scary. Almost.

"Yes." Cosima simply answered, playing with her knuckles again. "What if we can't get her back?"

Delphine tried to maintain calm, but she was terrified inside. "We will. It's probably just some misunderstanding or some paperwork they need from us."

Cosima simply nodded and stared out the window. The trees made scary shadows and figures. She remembered when she would travel with her family to visit her grandmother. She and her siblings would play games like "what does the trees look like?" "name an animal that could be in the middle of that forest with the letter C" and she would have the best time.

Except when they traveled at night. The trees gave her the creeps. Her sisters would sleep the entire time. Natasha was the first one to fall asleep and Shay was always reading some book until her eyelids were so heavy that she couldn't even keep it from falling on her lap. Felix never slept because he knew Cosima enough to know that the smaller one was scared of the dark picture she got from outside. He always tried to distract her or just keep her company.

"Still scared of the trees?" Delphine asked. "I know Felix isn't here, but..."

"You will do." Cosima said and immediately regretted it. She glanced at Delphine and saw the smirk on her face. "Oh, okay, I didn't mean it like that!"

"Oh, you know you did." Delphine raised an eyebrow, taking a glimpse of the woman next to her. Her cheeks were flushed and the shy smile was painted all over her face.

She loved that smile.

"I did not! You're such a pervert!"

"I'm just trying to lighten up the mood a little."

And then the car was silent again. They were a few blocks from Camila's office and the trees weren't so scary anymore. Most of them had been replaced with buildings.

Cosima took a last glimpse at the window before turning to face Delphine. "Do you think she's afraid?"

"Of the trees?"

"Of not coming home."

The blonde sighed deeply. "Maybe. But she knows we're going to bring her back home, even if it takes a little bit longer."

Cosima sighed. "I hope she does. And about the trees," she continued. "She won't be. She has Theo. And you. And me. She will be fine."

Delphine smiled sadly at Cosima, one hand leaving the steering wheel and gently caressing her hands. They were cold, her knuckles missing color.

"She _will_... she will."

***

“Have a seat.”

Camila pointed to the chairs in front of her desk, which the couple took immediately. Her tired expression didn’t stop her from waiting for them to resolve this. She knew how important it was to them, specially Delphine. Cosima was apprehensive. Delphine was peeling off the side of her not-healed-yet fingers again.

“What happened? We left just a couple hours ago and all of a sudden…” Cosima was frustrated and the exhaustion from the shopping started to lay off on her. 

“As soon as you left, I submitted their new birth certificates. I knew it wouldn’t take long until they reached out to me to let me know it was all ready by the time I would be able to come pick it up tomorrow from the notary’s office.” she explained, her hands gesturing in the air. “But when I received the e-mail with the confirmation of Theo’s birth certificate, there was a note saying that Annie’s got denied and for more information, I should contact them as soon as possible. So, I did.”

Cosima tried to understand what Camila was saying, tried to put two and two together but it wasn’t making sense. Why was hers denied? Maybe at some point, they weren’t fit for a child. Maybe their home was suitable for a baby and their work hours could fit in a 7 months-old schedule, but not in a 5 years-old. Which, still, didn’t make sense since a baby requires a lot more of time and attention.

Maybe that’s why.

Theo’s got approved because he’s a baby and the System put him on a priority list, which got him adopted without his sister. _She’s older, so they probably think she can handle being in a foster care and doesn’t need to be adopted right away. Ok, but that’s bullshit. Theo can’t even understand the situation yet! She’s the one who’s hurting the most._

“So, when I called, they said that Theo’s is completed. His new birth certificate is ready and just waiting to be picked up tomorrow. But that was only possible because he was born here. He’s a Torontonian. Annie was born in Cartagena, Colombia. They need to get their notary’s office approval first, before they can sign hers.”

“I think I’m not getting it right. She needs allowance from Colombia to be adopted here? She was living here. She’s a citizen.” Delphine asked, with confusion written all over her face.

“No, she was not.” Camila explained. “Her mother was still waiting her visa to be approved. She wasn’t a citizen, not yet. And since her mother died before her visa came and Annie was Elena’s dependent, she wasn’t a citizen.”

Delphine’s heart was slamming so hard against her sternum that she thought she felt pain. If there was even the slightest possibility of them not being able to adopt Annie she would lose it. She glanced over at Cosima, who sat somehow peacefully. She wasn’t playing with her knuckles, or even had her hands together in her lap.

“What does this mean, then? We can’t adopt her? Is there a chance we lost her, like, for real?” Delphine blurted out and quickly curled up back in her chair. It was scary. The possibilities were endless and the one where they can’t get her and separate her from her brother was the worst-case scenario.

“I would be lying if I said there is not.” Camila answered hesitantly, glancing from Delphine to Cosima. “They will do an evaluation of her case, see if there’s any relatives that can confirm her mother’s death. But since the adoption process is already in progress and almost completed, the only thing they’ll need is a copy of Elena’s death certificate and a copy from your file to see that you’re fit parents and have been approved by us.” 

Cosima and Delphine sighed deeply instantaneously, trying to absorb everything they heard. It was a lot to take in. A lot to process. The fear they were feeling was making it even harder.

“How long does it take?” Cosima asked quietly.

“They said up to 72 hours, so by Friday you’ll have a decisive answer. You’ll only be able to go to court once they approve her document, though.” Camila said in response, trying to sound as positive as possible.

Cosima chuckled. She shook her head no gently as her fingers ran from side to side on her forehead. Delphine looked at her, confused.

“You know what’s funny?” she said between giggles. “Tomorrow is Wednesday. We visit them every Wednesday and it would’ve been such a great surprise to them if we just showed up and said ‘ _you know what? We’re taking you both home today! So, go pack your things!’_ ” Cosima said in a breath and the barrier of her eyes started to fill up with tears, which Delphine knew Cosima was too stubborn to even blink so they wouldn’t scape.

Delphine wanted to fight the urge to hold Cosima in her arms, but she couldn’t. Not when she was letting it all out like this. She reached out for her hands and grabbed them, rubbing the top of it with her thumb as she raised it up to place a kiss on their entwined fingers.

“She would’ve loved it.” Cosima said, letting the tears roll down. Allowing herself to feel it all because she was devastated. Why would it be a bad thing? “Theo wouldn’t care because he doesn’t understand anything. He would just smile and drool all over his own chest because that’s what he does when he sees us.” Cosima laughed and glanced at Camila quickly one more time before letting her head fall down to stare at her own lap.

Delphine chuckled and brought her own hand up to wipe the trail the tears had left on her cheeks. Cosima chuckled too, but she didn’t wipe her face or took the glasses off her face to wipe the tears that had stained the lenses. She kept her head down. Camila watched the scene and it was visible that it was making her sad too. It was too much. Too much for anyone to handle. It hurt. So much. But she couldn’t do anything. Just let time do its job.

“I am so, deeply, sorry.” Camila said and it came out in a whisper. She had nothing to say, but could she just stay quiet after what she had just witnessed?

“Don’t be. You didn’t do anything wrong. These things… they happen.” Delphine said, squeezing Cosima’s hand lightly before resting her hand on her shoulder. The blonde felt movement coming from the smaller woman and, with the corner of her eye, saw Cosima wiping those tears away. “We just have to wait. Theo’s adoption is completed, he’s ours. Now we just have to wait just a little bit more. Okay?” Delphine said to Cosima this time. She simply nodded.

They got up as so did Camila. She walked out from behind her desk to get closer to the couple in front of her.

“As soon as I have new information about it, I’ll contact you immediately.” Camila said.

“We appreciate it. We really do. Thank you for having us, even after your shift.” Delphine thanked her and Camila, not so surprisingly, pulled the blonde for a quick hug.

And then she did the same to Cosima, holding on a little bit longer. Delphine just smiled.

“Everything will be fine, okay? You will be okay. _She_ will be okay.” Camila said to Cosima, who whispered a _thank you_ before she let go of the woman’s body.

 

**50 HOURS LATER**

Cosima was starting to get dizzy from walking in circles in her own living room. Delphine was comfortably sitting on the couch, blanket on top of her legs and a book in her hands, which she didn’t know what it was about because she couldn’t focus on the words.

“Would you stop walking around the couch? You’re making _me_ dizzy.” Delphine said playfully, without looking up from her book.

“I’m sorry. Feels like I ate five bars of Snickers and two bags of Jelly Beans.” She stopped for a second, jiggling her hands in front of her body like she was trying to release some of the energy. Failed. Big time.

“Don’t let Annie hear that or she will actually think that this is possible without having a food intoxication.” Delphine said, making Cosima chuckle. But then her face dropped again and she started circling the couch again.

Delphine let her head fall back down and closed her eyes. “Ugh. Stop that!”

“I can’t. I’m too impatient.” She sat down forcefully, pushed Delphine’s legs away so she could get under the blankets and put the blonde’s legs back on top of hers. “Okay, distract me. Tell me how everything went with Annie. Theo was kind of in a mood and I couldn’t be with her a lot. She also seems to like you better.” Cosima rolled her eyes jokingly.

Delphine closed the book and put it on the side table. “She does not. She asked why you were with Theo most of the time, just so you know.” Delphine replied, pretending to be a little bit hurt. “And how was he in a mood? He’s 7 months old. There is no such thing as a moody baby. He seemed fine.” Delphine raised her eyebrows.

Cosima widened her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her body. “Oh, you don’t know your kid at all, then, lady. He _was_ fine after I played with him for like, fifteen minutes straight. You didn’t even notice when I sat back there with him.”

_They had arrived a little bit too early. 4PM was the time scheduled, by the people who worked there, for visitation. There wasn’t always a lot of people, but the house has a garden at the front so people who come can hang with the kids without the others seeing. It prevents them to feel bad._

_Cosima rang the bell at 3:57. She couldn’t wait anymore._

_Perry showed up at the door and smiled warmly at them when she recognized their faces. She was the one who always kept the place tidy and organized, which is a very hard task to do when you have that many kids in one house._

_She walked down the front steps between the front porch and the big yard. “Hello, you two! How are you doing today?”_

_“Hi, we’re just fine, thank you!” Cosima answered as she watched her opening the door. They walked in and Delphine closed the door behind them. “How about you? Are the kids getting in your nerves yet?”_

_“Oh, I’m great, thank you! And, oh no, they couldn’t even if they tried. They’re so sweet, all of them.” She smiled as she went inside the house again. “I’m going to let Maria know you’re both here and bring the kids.”_

_The woman walked down the long hall and disappeared when she turned left. It could be heard some of the kids playing in the backyard and suddenly a cold ran through Cosima’s stomach. It could be the last visitation they’d ever do. This could be the day they would get framed, along with a photo of them all, to put on the living room because they would be going home. Cosima suddenly felt an urge to cry, but she couldn’t. She needed to be calm, for Annie._

_They heard footsteps. Delphine’s lips turned into a smile quickly and involuntarily as she saw the little girl running towards them with arms wide open._

_“Hi! You came!” she said loudly with the brightest smile as she bumped her body against Cosima and Delphine at once, each arm around one of them. They both hugged her at the same time._

_“I can’t believe you thought we wouldn’t come!” Delphine said playfully, trying to sound hurt. Annie didn’t buy it, because she started to laugh._

_“Of course not! I knew you would come.”_

_Maria followed Annie in a slow pace, welcoming the couple with a smile._

_“Cosima, Delphine! What a joy to have you here.” She said. “Theo was sleeping, but he should be awake soon. Do you want to come and check if he’s awake yet?”_

_“Sure! I’ll go.” Cosima answered before she bent down to face Annie. “Will you be okay with Delphine, chipmunk?”_

_When they last came to visit, Annie had found a chipmunk running in the backyard and asked Cosima if they would hurt her if she tried to pet them. Cosima explained that she needed to be very careful, because if it felt scared or threatened, it would bite her and leave a little wound. So, Annie did it. She got closer to the animal and caressed the top of its head. It didn’t bite her. She was so excited saying it was so cute and that she wanted one for herself. That’s when Cosima said Annie was her chipmunk. Annie liked it, so Cosima said it was now her new nickname._

_“Yes! Go.” She gestured with her hand, waving it in the air like she was expelling her. Cosima raised an eyebrow and let a chuckle out before she followed Maria to the bedroom._

_The house wasn’t big but it fit all the kids comfortably. It didn’t have stairs, only long halls with cute paintings hanging on the walls and chores for the bigger kids._

_Maria opened the door slowly, trying to not make any noise. Theo seemed to be still sleeping, but as soon as Cosima stepped in the room he started to move around and then his eyes shot wide open. He didn’t cry, he just laid there, trying to grab a turtle that was hanging from the mobile._

_“It’s his favorite.” Maria said with a smile, watching the boy in the crib from the door. “The turtle. It’s the first thing he tries to grab when he wakes up. Go ahead.”_

_She nodded her head, pointing to the crib. Cosima walked towards it. She didn’t expect Theo to just put on a mad face when she looked at him and it filled her heart._

_“Hi, baby.” She said, with her baby voice. “Hello, pretty thing. How are you? Did you take a good nap?” She picked him up, but he was not having it._

_“Sometimes he wakes up cranky.” Maria said as she approached them. She picked up his pacifier from the crib and offered it to him, but he snapped his hands towards it. “Just play with him and he’ll feel a lot better.”_

_“I’ll just sit here and play with him for a couple of minutes before I go outside again, is it okay?” Cosima asked, putting the baby on the floor._

_“Sure! There’s toys in that box, if you want to give it to him.” she pointed to a plastic box placed in the corner of the room, behind the door._

_“Thank you.” Cosima thanked her before she slightly shut the door. She walked over to the giant box and grabbed some colorful, soft toys and sat on the floor, with her legs crossed, in front of him._

_“Just you and me, kid.” She poked his bare foot. It may have tickled because she saw him smiling a bit. “I missed you so much, did you know that?”_

_Cosima saw Theo reaching towards a stuffed white unicorn, touching his horn carefully. She watched him as her smile grew bigger._

_They left the room twenty minutes later to meet Delphine and Annie again, playing a cloud game outside. They were sitting on the grass, legs crossed, resting their bodies on their hands placed behind them. Cosima slowly sat on the grass with Theo, keeping a distance from the girls in front of her. The blonde didn’t seem to notice them, distracted with the shapes of the clouds in the sky._

_“That one looks like a bunny!” Annie shouted, pointing to the biggest cloud in the sky. The girl was the happiest Cosima had ever seen. It made her happy but, at the same time, her heart hurt because she knew this could’ve been under different circumstances._

_“It does! And that one,” Delphine pointed to a small one, away from the rabbit one. “looks like a frog!”_

_“It even has legs. Ew. Frogs.”_

_“What? Why ‘ew’? They’re nice!”  Delphine said, looking at the girl now._

_“They’re squishy. And they bite.”_

_“They are squishy, yes, but they don’t bite! Unless you try to hurt them. Would you?”_

_“Never! I don’t like hurting animals. Even frogs.”_

_“So, there you go.”_

_“Can you take me to see one, some day?” Annie asked with her voice filled with hope and Delphine melted. She smiled and scooched over to get closer to the girl. She threw an arm around the girl and pulled her closer, placing a kiss on her head._

_“Of course.”_

_“And the bunnies, too? I love bunnies. They’re cute.”_

_Delphine’s mind went straight to when they were shopping for the kids. The bunny onesie they had bought to her. She smiled as she pictured Annie, dressed in a bunny onesie, at the zoo, asking to see the rabbits._

_“I think you’ll love the bunnies. Do you know who else loves bunnies? Cosima! You two have a lot in common.”_

_“Where is she? She didn’t spend any time with me today. I miss her too.”_

_“She went to pick up Theo and he was sleeping, remember?” she asked and Annie nodded. “I bet they’re coming out here in a moment, he’s probably awake…”_

_Delphine heard footsteps on the grass and finally turned around, seeing Cosima carrying Theo in her arms._

_“I’m so sorry to interrupt, but someone wanted to say hello!”_

_Delphine’s smile grew bigger when she saw the baby smiling at her, drool all over his chin. Annie smiled when she saw Cosima sitting between her and Delphine, putting Theo sat on the grass._

_“Hi, sweetheart! Your sister and I were just playing a game. See?” Delphine picked him up and sat him on her lap, pointing to the big cloud Annie had pointed earlier. “That cloud is a bunny! A little bunny.” She held his hands together and made him clap, which caused him to smile._

_Cosima gave Annie a hug from behind and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. The girl curled up in Cosima’s embrace. The woman didn’t see, but Annie had the bigger smile on her face._

_“Hello, chipmunk! I missed you so much.”_

_“I missed you, too! Delphine told me you like bunnies. I like bunnies too. She said we could go see the bunnies and the frogs.”_

_“The frogs, huh?” Cosima raised an eyebrow and glanced at Delphine, who was too distracted with Theo to pay any attention to the conversation going on._

_“Yes! I said they were ‘ew’ and she said they’re not ‘ew’, that they’re squishy but they won’t bite me if I don’t hurt them.”_

_“And she’s right. They’re nice creatures, just like the bunnies and the chipmunks.”_

_“When can we go?” Annie blurted out and the sadness in her voice made Cosima’s stomach hurt. Cosima was speechless for a second. Her heart pounded in her chest. They were supposed to be leaving now, bringing them home and planning a trip to the zoo so Annie could see the bunnies, the frogs and the zebras._

_But Annie wasn’t theirs yet._

_Not legally._

_Yet._

_“Soon, baby.” Cosima said in a whisper. “I promise we’ll go soon.”_

_“Okay.” Annie whispered back before joining Delphine and Theo, pointing to that small cloud again. “See, Theo? That’s a frog! They’re squishy but they’re nice!”_

 

“Now all I can picture is Annie wearing the onesie to a zoo trip.”

Cosima was calmer now and at some point, during Delphine’s storytelling, they had cuddled in the couch. Delphine was now laying half of her body on the side of Cosima’s body and Cosima’s arm was wrapped around her waist, making shapes on Delphine’s waist. The blond had her arm wrapped around Cosima’s waist and her head resting on the brunette’s chest.

“I have a bad feeling and I can’t get it out of my chest.” Delphine said quietly, staring at the blank wall.

“Hey, it’s okay. They’re fine.” Cosima answered smoothly as possible, trying to comfort the blonde.

“No, they’re not.” Delphine blurted out.

She got up and stared at Cosima. The brunette had never seen Delphine like that and it kind of scared her. The tears coming, trying to break the surface, were filling Delphine’s eyes. Cosima got confused. She was fine just ten minutes ago. Why all of the sudden she was crying, when she was the one telling Cosima to be patient a few moments before?

 “You don’t know what’s like to be there. I gave her false hope. I told her we’d pick her up soon and take her to the zoo and she’s been there for almost two months. She’s probably sitting in a corner playing with books or just running around behind Maria asking her why we’re taking so long. I know this because I used to do the same thing. I used to go to Genevieve and ask her why no one wanted us. We didn’t have what we gave Annie and Theo. We had nobody to wait for and it was terrifying.”

Delphine’s face was red from all the crying and her neck veins were popping out from the yelling. She had this anger inside her that wouldn’t go away, that she hid in a deep, deep place so it wouldn’t come back and hurt her, but Cosima somehow managed to bring it back. Cosima was mad at herself for making her feel this way all over again. It hurt inside her chest, but not as much as she was mad. If she hadn’t said that they’re fine, Delphine would be fine now. But, at the same time, she felt relieved that she was sharing this. They never talked much about this subject because it always made Delphine cry, so she tried to avoid it. Now Delphine was saying it all out loud and Cosima hoped that she felt better. She just sat there in silence, hearing what the other woman had to say.

“Can you imagine having that same thought, but wondering why we said we loved them and that we would bring them back soon and still haven’t brought them back home yet? Wondering if the only two people they have left don’t want them anymore or don’t love them anymore? It is heartbreaking. Losing their mother is already scary enough and now…”

“I’m sorry.” It was all that Cosima could say at the moment. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. I really don’t know what it’s like. I’m sorry.”

Delphine just stared at Cosima in silence. It wasn’t her fault. She didn’t have to go through that experience as a child, she didn’t have the scars. She couldn’t know what it’s like. And now she was feeling bad because Delphine had never spoken about it and it wasn’t her fault, but still, there she was, apologizing. Delphine never shared this part of her life enough with the woman she loves because she was afraid to get hurt. But, instead, she hurt Cosima.  Guilty hit Delphine like a sharp knife.

“No, _I’m_ sorry.” Delphine reached out for Cosima’s hands on her lap and took them in hers. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped like that. It’s just… It’s frustrating because I know they’re treating them well there, but she’s a kid. She doesn’t understand a bit of the world yet and still hers is a mess because she lost her mother and we’re all that she has.”

Cosima just nodded in understanding

“She can’t sleep, Cosima. Maria told me she’s been having nightmares for a week now. She’s a five-year-old who’s having trouble to sleep because her life just turned upside down.”

Cosima shot her head up and stared at Delphine. She saw all the pain the blonde had kept inside her in her eyes and she wanted so badly to take it away. To take it in her own hands and rip it apart.

“It’s frustrating for me because I was there and I know what it’s like and yet I can’t do anything about her because she can’t be with us.” Delphine said. Cosima’s gaze was still fixed in the woman in front of her.

Tears were escaping from their eyes. Delphine grabbed Cosima’s face in her hands. She wiped away the trail left on Cosima’s cheek with her thumb and placed a kiss.

“So, I’m really sorry for snapping at you like that. I promise I’ll try to keep it to myself, okay?”

“Please, don’t.” Cosima said, fighting the tears that were trying to get out again. “You’ve been keeping things to yourself for so long now and it’s not making you any good and you know that. You don’t have to keep your feelings in a box inside you anymore, Delphine. We’re in this together.”

Delphine wondered how the hell did she get so lucky. She couldn’t help but smile at her partner in front of her. She took her face in her hands and placed her lips on Cosima’s.

“I love you.” She whispered, their foreheads resting on each other’s.

“I love you too.” Cosima answered. “So, please, don’t keep anything to yourself anymore.”

“I’ll try.” Delphine answered with a smile and pulled Cosima into a hug.

They sat there for what seemed to be hours, in complete silence, just enjoying the safe of their embraces. The sky outside was dark already. Delphine glanced at the clock on the wall. 7:21pm. She wasn’t sleepy, but she was exhausted. Cosima was sleeping and she didn’t want to move, so she closed her eyes for a second.

Her phone rang.

She grabbed it from the nightstand.

_Camila Tremblay._

Cosima woke up with the movement and looked up at Delphine. The blonde showed her the buzzing screen. Cosima sat up immediately as Delphine picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

Cosima couldn’t hear what she was saying, so she tried to study Delphine’s expression, but it was blank. It was like she heard what Camila was saying but it didn’t have any impact on her. Maybe it was something she already knew. She was prepared, so, nothing new to react to.

But something inside Cosima stung when she saw Delphine raising her hand and covering her mouth.

“Okay. Sure. Monday is fine. Yeah, you can set it up. We’ll talk later. Yeah, thank you.” Delphine said on the phone before she hung up. Her voice was normal, steady. Cosima was so nervous she felt her stomach turn.

“What? Delphine, what did she say?”

Delphine smiled. “They approved her birth certificate and they’re sending it to the notary’s office tomorrow. Our court session is scheduled to Monday. Monday is the day, Cosima.”

"Monday it is." Cosima smiled, but her eyes were still filled with fear. 

_What if it's not?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will take a bit longer now because college has started and it's already sucking me dry, but I'll try my best. Let me know what you think!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Court day has come and Delphine's sister comes to give her sister some support.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me start by saying that I know nothing about court or how it works BUT I did do my best research in order to write a good chapter that makes sense for you guys instead of just writing what I thought it'd be like. But, damn, those things are complicated, so, just stick to the fiction side of it and remember that I don't have a Law degree hahaha

Cosima couldn’t keep her hands off her skirt. She kept pulling it down while it insisted to rode up her thighs. She felt almost naked; wearing skirts wasn’t her usual choice, but she’s walking into a courthouse. A courthouse. She wanted to look presentable in front of the judge.

Delphine, on the other hand, was handling her salmon skirt and white blouse perfectly, like it was made to fit her body. The blonde wasn’t a fancy woman when it came to clothes, but she could handle it when needed. Cosima was walking right behind Delphine when she took a look at the woman – her heels making a ticking sound against the marbled floor, her perfect posture and her hair perfectly set, with waves gently stroking the top of her shoulders. Delphine looked behind, over her shoulder, and when she spotted Cosima checking her out, she just smiled and held her hand out to Cosima, who quickly took it and entwined their fingers as they walked into the room to find Camila on the phone.

Camila caught a glimpse of them and waved with a genuine smile.

“Oh, great! They just arrived. I’ll see you in a bit.” She said and hung up as Cosima and Delphine got closer. “I was just talking to Maria.”

“May I ask what did she say?” Cosima asked.

“Oh, please, no need to get formal anymore. I think we have past that, haven’t we?” Camila replied with a smile, slapping playfully Cosima’s arm. “And she said she’s getting Annie dressed and they’ll be here in a few.”

“Are we allowed to talk to her?” Delphine asked.

“Yes, but after she meets up with the judge. He’ll talk to her in that room,” she pointed to a small wooden door with a tag in a distance, but none of them could read what it said. “and then you can talk to her. We still have an hour left, would you like to discuss something?”

Cosima and Delphine looked at each other, in hopes that one of them would speak up first. Cosima more than Delphine.

Camila gestured to them to keep walking until they reached a large wood bench. “Do you know what’s he going to ask once we’re inside? I mean, is there a protocol that he must follow?” Delphine asked.

“He’s going to make sure that you are good people and that Annie feels safe and comfortable around you. He’s going to ask you why the sudden decision to adopt, since you weren’t fostering before, and that must be one of the most difficult questions you’ll ever answer in your life. But that’s about it. Annie will be there, too.”

“Yeah, we’re aware. I was inside the courtroom too.” Delphine said, referring to when her adoptions was in process.

“Yeah, it’s the same to this day. So, you may want to be careful with what you say out there, because this judge is specialized in child cases. Besides his Law knowledge he also studied children’s body language, so he will notice if there’s any physical change in her body and how it’s affecting her.”

Cosima let out a heavy sigh. “Right. No pressure.”

“You’ll do great. No need to be worried. I will be there the whole time.” Camila said as she glanced up at them and smiled, flipping some pages on their file.

“You know,” Cosima started. “when we first met you, I thought you hated me. It’s funny to think about it now because, of course, when it took you five days to call instead of three—”

“Cosima, you’re rambling again.” Delphine cut her with a chuckle.

Cosima smiled gently and her cheeks blushed. “No, I’m not. I’m just… I’m just impressed with how first impressions can affect someone. I thought we weren’t getting them back because you hated me and that made me really scared. But then I got to meet you like a normal person would do and I saw how much of a sweetheart you are.”

Camila and Delphine had her eyes on Cosima, paying attention to each word. Camila smiled gently through her speech and, at times, you could see her eyebrow slightly knitting together in confusion. She never hated Cosima or Delphine, quite the opposite. Camila was enchanted by the couple when they first met, even though she might have sent off a different vibe.

“But now we only have one chance with the judge. It’s his first impression of us that will stick and help him make the decision. We can’t go back or keep getting to know him so he can see that we’re good people and will be good parents. This is a one-time thing and one word out of place and – if you don’t mind my poor choice of word – we’re fucked.”

Cosima had her elbows pressed against her thigh, her head down resting on her hands in a pure sign of frustration. Worry. She was desperate and exhausted. She hasn’t been sleeping for days and her mind seems to never fully stop and she was tired. She just wanted it to be over soon and to have her kids with her, at home. She didn’t want to miss Theo’s first crawl, or to be scared to death every time he puts something in his mouth, worried he’s going to choke. Annie’s probably almost reading. She didn’t want to miss out on her first read word. She wanted to come home from work and sit down to help Annie on her homework or just play with the kids until they’re all on the floor, laughing.

“You know I can’t promise anything, but I’m trying my best so they can go home with you today. This is something I can promise and I’m a woman of my word.” Camila put her hand on Cosima’s shoulder and gave it a light squeeze and a comforting smile.

Cosima smiled back. “I know. Thank you.”

“And also,” Camila added. “I didn’t nor do hate you. I always thought you two were a beautiful family. I’m sorry if I made you think that.”

“No need to apologize, I’m the crazy one here. I guess I was just so worried about the kids that everyone seemed to be angry or trying to take them away. When you work at the TPD you tend to see only the dark side of things.”

“Oh, tell me about it. You should see the cases I get from time to time.” Camila’s expression dropped and her eyes started to shine, like she wanted to cry. “Sometimes is hard. There was this case with twins, Athena and Aynia, at the age of 10 being separated. Their father used to beat them up while their mother was at work. Full time, got to pay the bills, you know? I remember talking to Aynia and she said that the only thing she needed was to not be separated from her sister, that she could handle the rest. They were sent to different foster cares, so Athena has a home now and Aynia doesn’t. It’s really heartbreaking.”

Delphine felt the urge to cry when she heard those words. She couldn’t imagine going through all of that and then losing her sister. Her mind set her and her sister in that scenario and it hurt, physically hurt, to only imagine. At that moment she wanted to comfort whoever those kids were and call her own sister. She really needed her right now.

“Oh, man…” Cosima let out a sigh, trying to keep her from crying. She blinked a few times in order to keep the tears from coming to the surface. Cosima saw Camila glancing up to catch a glimpse of Delphine for quite some time now. She turned her head to the side and saw the redness starting to form on the woman’s eyes. “Hey, babe, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I’m just going to call Louise, okay?” Delphine said, her voice cracked in the middle of the sentence. “That one hit me really hard. I’ll be right back, okay?”

Cosima just nodded as she watched Delphine getting up and pulling her phone from her tiny purse. As Delphine went outside, Cosima sat there, speechless. Camila rested her hand on her back and rubbed it gently with her thumb.

“Yeah, I know it’s hard. And, unfortunately, cases like that are not rare. Sometimes I hate my job.” she said, staring at the horizon.

 

Delphine felt the breeze hit her skin as she dialed her sister’s number. In moments like this she was the one Delphine always wanted around.

When they first decided to go through the process of adopting, Louise was the first person she called. Delphine needed to know her opinion about it

She heard the phone ringing four times before she heard a noise.

“ _Ma soeur est vivante!”_ Louise’s voice sounded smooth and she seemed happy to talk to her sister and the thought made Delphine smile a bit.

“Yeah, barely.” She replied.

“ _What’s up? Where are you? Why are you calling me this early in the morning?” Louise asked with concern. “Oh, my God! Today is Monday. You’re at the courthouse! Oh, Lord. Are you okay? How’s Cosima? Have you gone in yet?_ ”

“One question at a time, please?”

The line went silent. Delphine sighed.

“We’re at the courthouse, waiting the judge. Annie hasn’t arrived yet, but Maria said they’re on their way. Cosima is fine, I guess. Me? Not so much.” Delphine said calmly.

“Do you want me to come over? I can be there in 10.”

“Would you? I mean, don’t you have to go to work or something?”

“I do, but I can call in sick for the morning. My boss is the best, she won’t mind.”

“You’re the best sister on Earth.” Delphine smiled as she spoke.

“ _Je sais.”_  Louise replied.

“ _Je t’aime, bye.”_ Delphine said before she heard the line go blank again.

She looked back at Cosima sitting on the bench. She had a comprehensive smile on her face. Cosima stood up as she saw Delphine coming back in her direction. Her hands reached for Delphine’s arms and rubbed them gently up and down.

“You’re okay?”

“Yeah, Louise is coming over. She said she’ll be here in ten.”

“Oh, yeah? Oh, man, I miss her. I’m happy she’ll be here with you. For you.” Cosima smiled at Delphine, who had a concerned look on her face and Cosima knew why. At this point she could read Delphine like an open book. So, she just stood there, waiting the question she knew was coming.

“You’re not mad? Or upset?”

“Why would I be?” Cosima said, staring at Delphine. She tilted her head along with Delphine when the blonde looked down at her own feet. “Babe, we’re doing this together. It will be you and me taking care of the kids and right now the person you need the most is your sister and it’s not my place to be mad or upset or anything but happy for you, happy that you have your sister. You don’t need to shut her off of your life just because I’m in it now. Both of you went through all of this before and there’s not a single person in here that can help you and understand you better than she can.”

Delphine smiled and Cosima saw the barrier of tears forming in her eyes.

“I’m just so scared.” Her smile slowly faded and, all of a sudden, she started to sob. It felt like she was holding back those tears for a while now. “I’m scared because there _is_ a possibility of him rejecting us and Annie… She was so happy when we last saw her and can you imagine her reaction if the judge denies their adoption? My heart is aching, physically, and it won’t stop. Not until we get those papers in hands. Not until we take them home.”

Cosima just stared at her, speechless. She had opened up. After all this time, it was the first time she actually told Cosima what she was feeling and hadn’t repressed them.

Cosima’s lips turned into a smile before she pulled Delphine into a hug. She didn’t dare break their contact until the blonde calmed down.

“You’re all that matters to me. Well, you and those kids now.” She said with a chuckle. “But you’re my whole world and what we’re doing here is the best thing that could happen to us. This is the beginning of our little family.”

Delphine stared at Cosima in full passion. She couldn’t feel anything but love at that moment. She kept a huge smile on her face and then took Cosima’s face on her hands and gently pressed her lips against hers.

“I love you, okay?” Cosima said. “And so does your sister. She said she’d be here in 10 minutes, right?” Delphine nodded. “She must’ve gone through a lot of red lights then because it’s been literally five minutes.”

Delphine frowned in confusion and looked back over her shoulder at the direction Cosima had pointed with a head nod.

Louise had just parked in front of the courthouse. Delphine’s smile grew bigger when her sister waved at her, walking up the stairs.

“Hello, you two!” She said, excited. She hugged Delphine tighter and then stretched an arm towards Cosima and pulled the woman into a hug. “Ugh, I missed my favorite sister-in-law in the whole world! You’re my favorite, did you know that?”

“I am surprised to know that you have others.” Cosima joked and looked at Delphine, putting on a fake mad face. Delphine just giggled and kissed Cosima’s forehead. “How have you been? We haven’t seen you in a while.”

“I am great, little one! Now, this one…” Louise looked at Delphine, who shyly looked down, her cheeks flushed.

“Yeah, she needs you.” Cosima said and wrapped her arm around Delphine’s waist, tilting her head just a little bit to the side, enough to rest lightly on Delphine’s shoulder. She felt Delphine’s arm rest over her shoulder and her hand hanging, searching for Cosima’s.

“And I’m here.” She said, stroking gently Delphine’s arm. “We’ve been through this before and Annie is a very lucky girl to have you as a mom, Delphine.”

“I’m going to grab a coffee and—”

“No, please.” Delphine held Cosima’s hand tighter. “Stay.”

“This needs to be between you and her, babe.”

“I’m not the only one she needs right now, Cosima. If she’s asking you to stay, who am I to say anything against it?” Louise said with a smile and Cosima smiled back with a nod.

“I know this is scary, for both of you and especially you,” she pointed at Delphine. “but we’ve been through this. We know the drill. And _you_ know, better than anyone could ever know, that you’re the best person in this world to have them. You’ll help those kids, Annie the most, with everything that will come from this and you know what I’m talking about. You’re going to be a great mother. He’ll see the love you feel for those kids in your eyes. I’m no judge nor have a degree in Psychology, but I can tell.”

Louise sighed calmly, waiting for a response. Delphine just stared at her, her grip on Cosima’s hand getting tighter while she rubbed her thumb gently on top of her hand.

“It didn’t happen by chance, Delphine. I know, you know, Cosima knows that you have some demons of your own that you fight daily because of what happened to our parents and the whole situation. You think you’ll be the only one helping them go through what happened? Things happen for a reason, Delphine. She’ll be just as much of a help to you as you’re going to be for her. Your paths crossed for a reason.”

Delphine was crying again. Silently this time. Cosima kissed their entwined fingers as Louise wiped away the trail left by the tears running down her face.

“Anyone can sense how much you love them. It’s hard for a kid at that age to like someone, you know? They’re too attached to their parents and you know that.  You know how much you missed our mom. But Annie? She _loves_ you. Both of you. I can tell by the way she’s smiling while staring at you both, standing in that white and yellow dress right over there.” Louise pointed at a spot behind them, making them both turn at once.

Annie was standing there, holding Maria’s hand, with the most beautiful smile on her face. Her long hair was wet and the length turned into beautiful curls. Maria also had a shy smile on her face, like if she was watching everything that Louise was saying to them, just waiting her finish before letting them know of their presence.

Cosima had the biggest smile as she opened her arms while Annie ran into a hug.

“Cosima! Delphine!” she yelled when their bodies collided. “Hi!”

“Hi, baby girl! How are you?” Delphine said as she pulled the girl into a tight hug.

“I’m good. Are you good?”

“Yes, we are!” Delphine said.

“No, you’re not. You’re crying. I don’t like it when you cry. Are you crying because you’re happy or because you’re sad?”

“I’m crying because I’m happy! I’m so happy to see you. I missed you so much, did you know that?”

“I know. I missed you two, too.” She smiled as Maria approached them.

Louise had backed down and sat on the bench, just watching the scene. It made her really happy to see her sister with Annie. It reminded her of her own adoption and how she felt. Annie was happy to know they’re her new home. She smiled.

“Hi, Maria. How are you doing?” Cosima greeted the older woman, giving her a quick hug.

“I’m doing fine, thank you. How are _you_ feeling?” she asked.

“We’re nervous. But fine, I guess.” Delphine answered with a smile.

From the corner of her eye she saw Camila and her reprehensive look. They weren’t supposed to be talking to each other.

“We’re not supposed to be talking to either one of you. Camila is calling for you both.” Delphine nodded, pointing at the woman behind Maria. Camila gestured for Maria to take Annie to the judge’s room.

“Everything is going to be fine, okay, chipmunk?” Cosima had bent down and placed a kiss on Annie’s cheek.

“Okay.” She answered, with a little smile before Maria took her hand and walked away, disappearing into the judge’s room, followed by Camila.

“Everything is going to be just fine. You’ll see.” Louise said to Cosima and Delphine. “Where’s your witness?”

“Just got here.” Cosima said as she read a text on her phone.

“Hello, ladies,” he said with a smile, giving each one of them a hug. “Is she here yet?”

“Yeah, she’s in there with Camila, Maria and the judge.” Delphine said, pointing to the door Annie had walked in seconds ago.

Louise’s phone rang in her purse. She took it out and after she saw the name on the screen, she raised a finger before she spoke.

“This is kind of a big deal, it’s… uhm, my boss,” she said, trying to find her words. Delphine’s brow furrowed and she looked at her sister in confusion. “If you’ll excuse me I’ll be right back.” She said before answered the call and walked away.

“Thank you for doing this.” Cosima said to Art.

The man stood there, with his perfect sewed dark blue suit, hands in his pockets and a smile on his face.

“I’m flattered to do it.” he answered. “You’ll be the greatest moms to these kids and I’m proud to see your family grow.”

The judge’s room door opened and Maria left, holding Annie’s hand as they followed straight into the courtroom. Camila came in their direction.

“I hope you’re ready because we’re going in now.”

***

[]

Inside the courtroom was even colder than it was outside. It was a huge room, filled with wood benches and the stand. The judge had just sat. Annie was sitting on a bench with Maria, her legs swinging in the air, too short to hit the floor. On the other side, Camila, Delphine and Cosima stood up behind the table, waiting for the judge to speak up. Art was standing beside Cosima, at the end of the table, nervousness starting to show in his shaky hands clasped together in front of his body.

Delphine kept listening Louise’s voice, what she had said to her right before she came in.

_I’m here for you and today is the day you’re bringing your kids home. You’ll know what to do once you’re in there._

“You may be seated.” He said firmly, taking Delphine out of her own mind. They all sat at once. “We’re gathered here today to give closure to case #42813, the adoption of Annie Torres and Theo Torres. Is this correct, Mrs. Tremblay?”

“Yes, your Honor.” Camila said.

“And the adoption will be made by Cosima Niehaus and Delphine Cormier, is that correct?”

“Yes, your Honor.”

“I’ll try to keep things lightly due to Annie’s presence in the room and as quick as possible. So, Ms. Cormier, if you may, I’d like you to state how is your relationship with Annie Torres.”

“I think it’s the best it could be, your Honor. We get along really well, and so does my partner. Annie seems to enjoy our time together and so do we.” Delphine answered as politely as she could, wiping covertly her sweaty hands on her skirt.

“Now, Ms. Niehaus, how did you become aware of Annie and Theo’s status?”

“I work at the Toronto Police Department, in forensics, along with Delphine. We were aware when we received her mother’s case, your Honor.” Cosima said, trying to keep the words as light as she could since Annie was less than 2 meters from her. She glanced quickly at the girl, who, fortunately, seemed to be too distract with the sunflowers on her dress.

“And what drives you to adopt them? The question goes for both of you. Take your time to answer. There is no right or wrong answer, but you need to be honest here. Remember that you’re under oath.”

“To be completely honest with you, your Honor, we felt a connection right away. Kids that young usually are too attached to their parents and don’t trust anybody else, no matter what kind of trauma they had gone through. But, somehow, when we first met Annie, she felt safe with us and trusted us. When we got to their house, we were able to calm Theo and her down.” Delphine started, gesticulating with her hands as she spoke.

There was a quick pause, but enough time to Cosima to jump in.

“They didn’t have anyone else. Their only family was their mother. It was like they were always ours somehow. Like our paths crossed for a reason. We love them and there’s no rational explanation to why we’re adopting them or if there’s a single reason or motive for us to adopt them. It’s just a connection we feel. It’s there. We love them and we want them to be part of our family.”

“Mr. Arthur Bell, can you prove that what they’ve stated is true and is trustworthy? It is common knowledge that they have not signed the civil papers for marriage, but keeping in mind that it does not invalidate them as a couple. So, if you may, share how’s their relationship and how it affects them. Remember, you’re under oath and you’ll say nothing but the truth.”

“Yes, your Honor. I’ve known them for five years now and I can say with certainty that everything that was said is the truth. Their feelings for the kids are the purest it could be and there is no one better to take them into their family than these two.” He said, not making eye contact with Delphine and Cosima, but keeping his posture and the smile on his face to deliver assuredness to the judge and not pass it on as just a personal opinion. "Their relationship as a couple, as far as I know, have been the best for this whole time. Steady home, financial security and flexible work hours that could be easily arranged to bring comfort for them as a family with two kids."

Cosima felt like she was going to puke. She was beyond nervous and at that point she didn’t even know why she said those things, they just blurted out of her mouth. The judge kept analyzing every word that came out of their mouths, switching his stare between them and Annie. Camila remained silent, sometimes Delphine caught a glimpse of her, when she would just nod in agreement to whatever they were saying.

That didn’t make the nervousness go away. Each word that slipped out of her mouth seemed wrong.

_I wasn’t supposed to say that._

_He’ll deny us._

_We won’t bring them home,_ Delphine thought.

“Okay. All rise.” He demanded.

Cosima, Delphine and Camila stood up quickly. Delphine felt her the strength disappearing from her legs and she thought she might fall. Cosima’s heart was pounding so hard against her sternum that she thought the judge could see her body shaking with every heartbeat. She took a deep breath. Two. Three. Four.

Delphine wanted to cry.

This is it.

Whatever they said was decisive. It was either he allows the adoption and now they’re part of the family or they’re rejected. She felt dizzy and the temperature in the room seemed to drop 4 degrees at once. Shivers ran through her entire body. Cosima was having a hard time finding the balance in her body to keep her up on her feet. Both of their bodies were completely tense.

Then Annie looked at them and smiled like she was excited for whatever’s to come and couldn’t wait to hug them. Like she couldn’t contain herself. Cosima saw her excitement with her peripherical vision and turned her head, just a little bit, to the side and smiled at the girl. And so did Delphine.

_Everything is going to be alright,_ Delphine thought to herself.

_We’ve got this. Whatever happens, happens,_ Cosima kept repeating it in her head.

He grabbed the yellow envelope containing their new birth certificates. He set them down in front of him.

“By the power vested in me I declare this adoption concluded. Congratulations! Annie and Theo are now part of the family.” He said as the loud thud from the stamp echoed in the room.

One thud.

Two thuds.

“Dismissed.” He said and the sound of the gavel hitting the wood marked the end of the court session. Before he stepped down, he gave Cosima and Delphine a gentle smile and approached Maria first.

Art smiled at them and mouthed congratulations before he gave Cosima’s shoulder a lightly squeeze. He pulled the woman into a quick hug and did the same to Delphine.

“Thank you.” She whispered to him, he nodded.

“I’m going to wait outside.” He said, pointing to the door with his thumb and gave them a small smile before he left.

The adoption was completed. They were theirs. They’re part of the family.

Annie ran into their embrace and Delphine had to grab the wood fence behind her so she wouldn’t fall. Camila turned to Cosima and Delphine with a smile on her face.

“Congratulations! I told you everything was going to work out just fine.”

“I think I can’t feel my legs.” Delphine said with her shaky voice, resting her hand on Annie’s hair. The girl was hugging Delphine’s legs and resting her head on her belly.

“Thank you, for everything.” Cosima smiled and gave Camila a hug. “We can’t ever thank you enough.”

“Oh, nonsense. Look at the smile on your wife’s face. Look at the smile on Annie’s face. That’s what makes it all worth it.” She answered with a smile.

How could Cosima compete with that? She just smiled and looked at Annie, still holding tight to Delphine. She was the happiest woman on Earth. That was her life now. With the woman she loves and two kids. Their kids.

“Go, enjoy your kid. I’m going to talk to the judge and settle some things and bring their documents to you.” Camila said, touching gently Cosima’s arm before she walked away towards the judge.

Cosima looked at Delphine and the blonde had tears in her eyes. She thought her cheeks might be hurting from all the smiling.

“We did it.” She whispered.

“We did it. They’re ours, babe. Officially.” Delphine replied. Cosima got closer and pressed their lips together quickly.

Cosima’s hand touched Annie’s hair gently and the girl pulled out from Delphine and smiled at Cosima before she hugged her legs, pressing her body tight against Cosima’s.

“He said I can go home with you! Theo is going to be so happy! I am so happy!” she said with muffled words and her voice filled with excitement.

“And so are we. You, me, Delphine and Theo are a family now and we love you both so much no matter what.”

“I love you too! And Theo loves you too! Can we go home now?”

“Yes, we can, baby girl.” Delphine answered. “You just need to go back with Maria and we will meet you there so we can pick you and Theo up. Are you ready to come home?”

“Yes!” she yelled, raising her arms up in the air.

“Let’s go home, then.” Cosima said, holding Annie’s hand in one side and Delphine’s in the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm scared to death to post this one and I really would like to hear your thoughts on it. Kudos are always welcome :) thank you for reading and see you soon!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where everybody gets to know the kids and the kids meet their new family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I think this is the cutest chapter I've written in my entire life. Like, seriously, my heart melts every time I do a proofreading. So, enjoy it!

Cosima closed the car door almost too abruptly. Delphine had her hands on the steering wheel, her gaze was fixed on Cosima and the smile didn’t even dare to disappear.

“I think I need you to pinch me.” Cosima said, staring at Delphine as she analyzed every inch of the woman’s face. “Because I’m pretty sure I’m dreaming.”

“This is all too surreal.” She said in response. “But I’m so happy, babe. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. We’re driving to the house and we’re taking the kids home. Oh, God, I miss Theo so much.”

“I’m happy too and I can’t wait to squeeze his little cheeks.” Cosima said as she buckled up her seat belt.

“Thank you.” Delphine said.

Cosima’s brows furrowed. “For what?”

“For doing this with me. I don’t know if I could do it without you. I don’t even know if I’d want to do it if it wasn’t with you. Thank you for giving me the most beautiful family.” Delphine leaned over, her hand moved to cup Cosima’s cheek. Her thumb stroking it gently as she spoke.

“Thank _you_ for choosing me to be the one you grow a family with. I love you so much, have I told you that?”

“Yeah, you might’ve mentioned it once or twice.” Delphine said with a smirk and captured Cosima’s lips. They parted their lips and rested their foreheads against each other’s. “And I love you too.”

Delphine moved her hand back to grab the steering wheel and turned the engine on.

“Where’s your sister? When we got out she wasn’t nowhere to be found. Did you talk to her?”

“She told me she had some things to take care of and she’d see me later, but I don’t know what specifically.” Delphine explained. “Art too. He left the courtroom and suddenly he disappeared.”

“Do you think they’re…” Cosima asked, trying so hard to erase the image of Art and Louise probably having something more than just a friendship.

“ _No, ew!_ ” Delphine’s voice rose an octave. “I mean, I don’t think so. She was dating a while ago.”

Cosima’s phone vibrated a few times in Delphine’s purse. She quickly grabbed it and read the notification of her sisters’ texts on the screen.

_Natasha (11h17): hey, you! I was wondering… where did you say you found that dinosaur onesie Annie liked?_

_Natasha (11h19): if you could answer me, like, right now it’d be cool._

_Shay (11h21): please answer nat or she’s going to break something._

_Shay (11h21): or someone…’s face. and that someone will be me. i really like my face. pleeease and thank you._

Cosima chuckled as she read the last text.

“Who’s that?” Delphine asked, glancing quickly at Cosima before she looked back at the road.

“It’s Natasha and Shay. They’re asking where we found that dinosaur onesie for Annie.”

“It was at the mall, at that kids’ store right next to the Italian ice-cream place.” She answered and Cosima nodded, typing in the reply to her sister.

_Cosima (11h24): ok first of all natasha calm down do you want some chamomile tea or something_

_Cosima (11h24): secondly it was at that kids’ store next to the Italian ice-cream place at the mall downtown. the new one. why do you ask?_

She didn’t bother to answer to Shay since she figure they’d be together.

“I think they’re up to something.” Cosima said as she put her phone back. “And maybe your sister is involved?”

“Up to what, exactly?”

“I don’t know. They’re acting especially weird today.”

“Yeah…”

“And they’re friends, right?” Cosima asked and Delphine just nodded. “So, I’m pretty sure they’re up to something. I just don’t know what.”

“Well, whatever that is, we can deal with their craziness tomorrow because right now,” Delphine said as she pulled over in front of the foster care. “We have two kids to pick up.”

***

Perry came to answer the door with her usual smile on her face. She was the brightest person they’ve ever met. She was always happy to help and her mood always lighted up the place.

“Hey, come in!” she opened the door and gestured for them to come inside. As they walked in, she closed the door and led them to the main living room. “They’ll be here in a minute.”

Theo’s white bag with blue stripes was on the couch and it was stuffed with his things, Cosima judged by the size of it. Some kids watched tv in the next room, the TV room. They were too distracted to realize what was going on.

Light steps could be heard and they got heavier as Maria and Annie walked into the living room. Annie had her purple backpack on her shoulders and Laura was walking right behind them with Theo in her arms.

“…and be a good girl, okay? Remember what we talked about. They’re your family and you can trust them.” Annie nodded before she saw Cosima and Delphine standing in the corner of the room.

The older woman looked up and gave the couple a smile before she let go of Annie’s hand and pointed at them with a head nod.

“You’re here!” she yelled as she ran into their embrace. They both bent down so they could level with her height. “Hi.”

“Hey, chipmunk.” Cosima said before she smacked a kiss on Annie’s cheek. “Are you ready?”

“Yes!” she bounced her body and clasped her hands together in an excited move. 

Laura approached them as she smiled at Theo and talked to him with the sweetest voice.

“Look! Who’s that? Is that your mommies? Yes, it is!” she whispered to him, who seemed to be smiling. Delphine tried not to see things that weren’t there, but she was almost sure that he was happy to see them, even though he was just a baby. “Hi, Delphine! Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Laura!” she said in response, smiling back at the baby who was now drooling all over himself. Laura handled him to Delphine. At that exact moment, Theo smiled at Delphine as his arms reached out for her. “And thank you for taking such good care of them. We know how hard it is for them and having good people to look out for them in this situation is really important. So, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”

“You’ll make me cry.” She said, tears really starting to form in her eyes. “I’m the one who should be thanking you for giving them a loving family to be in. And also, Maria is the one who makes it all possible and less traumatizing for all of them. She’s the one you should be thanking.”

“Laura, the movie is over! Can you please come and switch it?” a little girl screamed from the TV room and, simultaneously, Delphine and Laura looked over at the door to see her standing, her head popping out on the door gap. “And Charlotte fell asleep.”

“Sure, Kira! I’ll be right there.” She answered to the little girl. Laura pointed to the door. “Duty calls. If you’ll excuse me…”

“Yeah, go ahead. Thank you again.” Delphine said and Laura answered her with a smile.

Delphine looked at Cosima, who had Annie wrapped on her legs and got closer to them to hear what Maria was saying.

“I was so happy to hear that everything worked out. She was, too. She couldn’t keep herself quiet on our way back.” Maria said to Cosima, noticing Delphine getting into the conversation now. She moved her hand to caress Annie’s hair, but the girl didn’t even flinch. “She’s ready to go home, right, Annie?”

“Yes, I am! I’m super ready.” She said as she looked up at Maria, then at Cosima and Delphine. The girl let go of Cosima’s legs when she saw the blonde smiling at her and grabbed Delphine’s leg in a tight hug. “Hi!”

“Hello, baby girl.” Delphine said as she ran her fingers through Annie’s hair. She looked up at Maria now, to see an amazed look on her face. “I was just talking to Laura, saying how thankful we are that you and everyone here made their experience a lot less traumatizing. They were lucky to be with such gentle and caring people like you, Laura and Perry. Thank you, for everything. And for letting us talk to her and get in touch more often, we know that’s not always possible.”

“It’s my pleasure, really. I love doing what I do and taking care of these kids is what makes me happy. And now seeing them go to a beautiful family like yours is even better. Makes the heart warm, you know?”

Delphine lightly nodded her head. She felt Cosima’s gaze on her, making her stare at her for a couple seconds before she turned to Maria again.

“It’s really beautiful the effort you put. Thank you so much.” Delphine said as she caressed Theo’s back gently.

Maria just nodded in response, the smile never leaving her face.

“So, all set,” she said. “Did you get everything, Annie?”

“Yeah. I got Sully and I grabbed Theo’s bottle.” The girl let go of Delphine and faced Maria.

“And what about your clothes? Those are important, too, you know?”

“Yeah, I know” she giggled. “I got them all. I’m ready to go to my new home now.”

“Then they’re all yours.” Maria said, picking Theo’s bag up and holding it out. Cosima took it and hang it on her shoulder.

 

The car seats were settled in the backseat. Delphine placed Theo gently on his, as Annie hoped up on hers and had her seat belt buckled with Cosima’s help. Her backpack and Theo’s bag were placed in the trunk.

Cosima and Delphine got into the car, Delphine in the driver’s seat and Cosima sat right beside her. The brunette rolled her window down so she could say her goodbyes to Maria.

“Drive back safely!” Maria said, her arms crossed in front of her body, holding her wool jacket.

“We will. Thank you again!” Delphine said as she turned the engine on.

Maria waved them goodbye as she saw the car driving off to the road again.

Delphine’s stomach was turning. Cosima’s heart was crazy inside her chest. She looked in the review mirror and saw Annie looking out the window, her cheeks’ muscles contracted in a light smile. Suddenly their eyes met and Cosima blew her a kiss. Annie did the same.

“We have a surprise for you when we get home!” Delphine said, looking at Annie through the review mirror. The girl’s eyes lighted up.

“Really?” she said loudly in excitement.

“Yeah! I think you’ll like it.” Cosima said. “And there’s a surprise for Theo, too.”

“I’m sure he will love it. Even though he doesn’t understand anything.” She answered, looking at the sleeping baby beside her. They all laughed.

Delphine couldn’t feel anything besides happiness. All the nervousness she was feeling when they got to the courthouse disappeared as soon as she saw Annie walk in with Maria and her smile when she saw them waiting for her at the house. Her mind was always coming back to Theo, though. They didn’t get to see him as much as they saw Annie, and her heart shrunk a little bit in her chest when she thought about him, but she knew they’d be reunited soon. She just knew it.

Cosima was still astounded with her life status. It was all so sudden but yet it still felt like they have been fighting for those kids for years. Time seemed to never pass and yet go by in a blink of an eye. Two months. She looked at the yellow envelope in the glove compartment. Their birth certificates.

She grabbed the envelope and opened it, taking the two laminated papers from it.

It was beautiful.

_Annie Cormier Niehaus._

_Theo Cormier Niehaus._

Cosima a stung in her stomach. Now they had their last names, but their mother’s was gone. It was weird. She felt like they had taken away from her the only thing she had from her mother.

Her face dropped in an instant. She stared at the papers but she wasn’t paying attention to anything written on it.

“What’s wrong?” Delphine said as she caught a glimpse of Cosima’s worried face.

“They have our last names now.”

“Yeah, they do.” She smiled a bit but it died when she saw that Cosima still didn’t seem happy about it. “What?”

“It was the last thing they had from her. Their names.”

“They’re too young to decide if they want to keep their last names or not, babe. It’s just protocol. Camila told us that. When they’re older, if they want to, we can change it.” Delphine explained, being careful so Annie couldn’t hear them. “Don’t worry about it. They’re fine. Annie probably doesn’t know how to write yet and Theo doesn’t even know how to pronounce syllables.”

Cosima chuckled and looked down at the papers again. It wasn’t so bad after all.

“I don’t have my parent’s last name anymore and I didn’t feel the need to get it changed back, neither did Louise. If they want to, we’ll talk to them and everything will be fine. Even though it’s hard, we can’t keep them too tied to their past, to their deceased mother. They have a new life and they’ll adapt to it. Everything will be fine. Okay?”

“Okay.” Cosima smiled and she felt her body relax. She moved her hand to grab Delphine’s. She entwined their fingers and placed a kiss on top of them. “Thank you.”

Delphine just smiled and looked at the kids again. Annie had fell asleep.

A loud sound came from Delphine’s phone, making her jump on her seat.

“Oh, crap.” She said as Cosima searched for it in her purse.

“It’s Louise.” Cosima said as she read the caller’s name on screen.

“Answer!”

“Hello?” Cosima said.

“ _Hi, Cos, mm… where are you?_ ”

“We’re going home. We already picked them up.”

“ _Oh, good. You’re taking too long. Do you know how much until you get here?_ ”

“Taking too long for what? And, I don’t know, maybe ten minutes?”

“ _Oh, okay then, see you later_.” And with that Louise hung up the phone, not waiting for Cosima to answer.

“What did she want?” Delphine asked.

“Your sister is batshit crazy.” She joked as she put the phone down. “She asked where we are and said we’re taking too long. What is she up to?”

“I have no idea.” Delphine just shook her head and let out a chuckle. “And I agree with you. She’s a little wrong in the upper storey.”

 

Delphine pulled over and checked on the kids before she unbuckled her seat belt. Annie was awake and so was Theo. _Thank God,_ Cosima thought. It would be hard taking them inside if they both were asleep.

“Annie, we’re here. Let’s go.” Cosima said as she opened the door and unbuckled Annie’s seat belt. “Can you put your backpack on, please?”

“Sure! Oh, hi, little flower.” She said as she got out of the car and saw the flowers in their front yard. “There’s a bee!”

“Careful, okay? If it gets mad it can sting you.” Delphine said to the girl, who quickly took a step back and ran away from it.

The blonde took Theo out of the car and walked towards their door. Cosima searching for their keys, but they were nowhere to be found.

“Babe, where are your keys?”

“Inside my purse.”

“No, they’re not. I’ve searched every inch of this thing and they’re not here.” Cosima replied, still looking for the keys.

“But what….”

Before Delphine could even reach her purse to help Cosima, the door swung open in front of them and Louise appeared, wearing a party hat, half pink and half blue. They took a quick look inside and the whole house was decorated with balloons and a huge banner that read ‘ _Welcome home, Annie and Theo!’_.

“Welcome home!” Louise sing-songed.

Cosima and Delphine looked at each other, both their eyebrows knit together but they’re expression was of amusement. Cosima looked inside and saw her sisters and her brother.

“What is this?” Delphine said as they walked in, Cosima pushing gently Annie inside with her hand on her back. “You _stole_ my key? How?!”

“ _This,”_ Louise raised her eyebrow, gesturing to the living room. “is a welcome-home party. And I didn’t _steal_ anything. I just borrowed it. When you were inside the courtroom.”

Annie was shy. She was hiding behind Cosima the whole time and was quiet as a mouse. The counter had a giant cake with white frosting and colorful sprinkles on top of it, with another _Welcome home, Annie and Theo_ written on it. Cosima smiled as she saw all the effort they had put into it all. Cosima put Theo’s bag down on the couch and kneeled down to face Annie.

“Hey, you don’t need to be shy. They’re all your family now. They’re all your aunts. And your uncle.” She gestured around the room at all of them.

Annie looked around, still apprehensive. Louise seemed to notice when she approached them.

“Hi, Annie! I’m Louise, I’m Delphine’s sister.” She said as she bent down. “You can call me Lou if you want. Or auntie Louise. What do you prefer?”

“I like auntie Louise better.” She smiled shyly. “Your hair is pretty, just like Delphine’s. Can I touch it?”

“Of course you can!” Louise tilted her head a little to the side. Annie took a lock of the curly hair gently. “Can I get a hug?” she asked. Annie nodded. “Yeah? Come here, then.”

Louise opened her arms and pressed Annie’s body closer to hers. At first the girl was a little bit reluctant, but she gave in easily. When she let go, Natasha and Shay approached them, also kneeling down to level with the girl’s height. Louise got up and took Theo in her arms.

“Hello, sweetie pie! I’m Natasha and this is Shay. We’re Cosima’s sisters.” Natasha said with a warm smile, pointing to herself and then to Shay.

“Auntie Natasha and auntie Shay?” she asked, still a little bit shy.

“Yeah, we are! You can call me auntie Nat if you want.”

“Okay.” Annie said, playing with the hem of her dress.

“And I’m uncle Felix!” Felix kneeled beside Natasha and smiled at the girl. “I’m Cosima’s brother.”

“Wow, I have a lot of family now! It’s cool.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Shay said excitedly.

“Can I give you all a hug?” Annie asked and Natasha was sure her heart had melted inside of her chest.

“You come here, you little monkey.” Natasha opened her arms and pulled the girl in a hug, accompanied by Shay and Felix on a sandwich hug. Annie laughed loudly as her body was squeezed in their embrace.

Cosima watched the scene in awe. Seeing her siblings with her kid like that was heartwarming. She saw as Louise bent down with Theo next to them and suddenly all of them, including Annie, turned their attention to the baby in her arms.

“We’ve done something beautiful.” Cosima felt arms being wrapped around her waist and Delphine’s lavender smell hit her nose. “Look at that. Our siblings are drooling over our children.”

“They are and it is beautiful, indeed. I couldn’t ask for a better family.”

“Neither could I.”

Felix was the first one to get up, walking towards the counter and grabbed a slice of pizza.

“You must be hungry, little thing.” He said to Annie. “Let’s eat. Here, take it.” He handled it to the girl, who took it in her hands. She didn’t take a bite at first. Instead, she looked up at Cosima and Delphine like if she was asking for permission to eat. Cosima and Delphine just nodded and then she took a big bite, leaving a trail of sauce on her cheeks.

“This is definitely _not_ how I wanted to feed them lunch, but when in Rome, you know?” Delphine said, unwrapping herself from Cosima. She took a corn dog from the counter and took a bite. “Ugh, these are delicious.”

***

The exhaustion was starting to consume everybody. Natasha and Shay were laying down on the couch as Felix and Annie sat on the floor, playing Jack Stones with some paper balls. Annie had a plate with cake and some chocolate beside her, taking a bite every now and then. Louise had to leave early to go back to work and Delphine and Cosima sat right next to them as Cosima held a sleeping baby in her arms. Art had called a couple of hours before and dismissed them from work as the welcome party kept going on.

Suddenly Shay gasped as she quickly got up from the couch.

“Oh, my God! I almost forgot!” she ran towards the counter, taking a huge bag from behind it. Natasha sat on the couch and realized what it was all about. Shay walked towards the couch again, but this time sitting next to Annie. “We bought you a present!”

“For me?”

“Yeah, for you! Open it.” Natasha said from the couch. Annie looked at her and then at Cosima and Delphine.

“Go ahead.” They answered in unison.

Annie opened the bag and her jaw dropped when she held the cozy fabric in her hands. The dinosaur onesie she had liked so much when they first went to the mall, that Cosima and Delphine had promised they would get for her. Her eyes were shining and she quickly stood up and held it in front of her body as if she was measuring it.

“Look, it’s the dinosaur onesie we saw at the store that day _and_ it’s my size!” she said excitedly, bouncing up and down. “Thank you, auntie Natasha and auntie Shay.”

She gave both of them a hug with a huge smile on her face. They were happy to see the girl so excited with such a simple gift.

“And I also have something for you.” Felix said as he bopped the tip of her nose. He stood up and took a box wrapped in a rainbow paper and handled it to the girl. “I asked Cosima what you like and she said you like animals, so...”

It was almost too big for her to hold, so she just placed it on the floor before she ran into him and gave him a hug.

“Thank you uncle Felix!”

“You’re welcome, little thing.” He responded. “I also got Theo a little something. It’s upstairs.” He said to Delphine, who had gotten up and had her hand resting on his shoulder with a smile.

“We bought him a gift, too. It’s set right next to Felix’s upstairs.” Natasha said and smiled at Cosima this time. The brunette mouthed a “thank you” and smiled at her sisters.

“Thank you. She really likes you. It took a little while before she even trusted us and she’s all hug-y with you. I mean, it’s been two hours and she’s already calling you uncle Felix and all.”

“I’m really glad to hear that.” He smiled softly before he turned his attention back to the girl. “She’s a special girl.”

Annie ripped the paper carefully, trying to keep it in one piece. When she finally tore it all up, she opened the box and took a plush frog from it and squeeze it tightly.

“I love it! Now Sully has a friend. Look!” she held out the huge toy in her hands towards Delphine and Cosima.

“Yeah, he does! And see? Frogs are squishy but they don’t hurt you, just like I told you.” Delphine said.

“It doesn’t hurt me, it’s really soft.” She said, pressing the toy back against her body in a hug.

“What’s his name?” Cosima asked. Theo moved a bit in Cosima’s lap and she thought he might be waking up, but he didn’t even open his eyes and got quiet again, still sleeping peacefully.

“It’s Mike! Now there’s Sully and Mike, just like Monsters Inc.”

“Uh, good one!” Cosima said.

“And you’re Boo!” Natasha said as she poked the girl’s ribs, making her laugh. She pulled her into a hug and placed a kiss on her cheek.

***

“I am exhausted.” Cosima said as she threw the last plastic cup into the trash can. Everybody had left a couple of hours ago and they were finishing cleaning up the food and all the candy left. Even though Shay, Natasha and Felix had taken some leftovers with them, there was still a lot of food left. “How many of these did your sister and my siblings bought? Jesus, we have enough leftovers for a week.”

“They really don’t have any notion, do they?” Delphine asked and Cosima shook her head frantically.

The kitchen was clean and so was the living room. Annie’s backpack and Theo’s bag were still on the couch. Delphine grabbed both of them with one hand and approached Annie.

“Well, let’s get you upstairs so you can take a shower, young lady.” Delphine said, pushing her hand gently against her back towards the stairs.

“And what about Theo?” she said, grabbing her frog and her new onesie.

“Cosima will be right up with him.” Delphine said. “Babe, are you okay down there?” she looked down at Cosima in the living room, bending down to take Theo, who was now awake, in her arms.

“Yeah, I got him. I’ll be right up.” She said, checking the room once again before she took a bottle of milk for Theo and turned down the lights to go upstairs.

Cosima went straight to their bedroom.

“I’m going to give Theo a bath in your bathroom, okay?” she yelled from the other room.

“Okay, call me if you need a hand.” Delphine answered and got a muffled “ _okay”_ from Cosima.

Delphine and Annie just stood in front of the kids’ door room.

“Are you ready to see your room?” Delphine asked and she nodded frantically. “Well, go ahead.” She gestured and Annie took the doorknob in her hands and opened the door, her mouth hanging wide open as she saw it.

Delphine’s jaw dropped too. The room had been painted white since the day they bought Theo’s crib and Annie’s bed, but she was amazed to see some new toys spread all over the room and a mobile in Theo’s crib. There was a plush pink flower toy on the window above Annie’s bed. There was a plush turtle set inside Theo’s crib. Delphine didn’t know exactly who gave Annie the flower and Theo the turtle, but she knew she had the most amazing sisters-in-law and brother-in-law in the world.

They did buy them some toys, but they were all organized in shelves and inside a box. The new plush toys gave the room a more childish look and it was beautiful.

“I love it! This bed is so big.” Annie jumped on it and lied down, feeling the softness of the sheets embrace her. “Look, a sunflower! Lots of sunflowers!” she said as she pointed to the stamp on the sheets. Her smile was warming Delphine’s heart.

“And we also bought this…” Delphine grabbed the wallpaper in the corner of the room and unrolled it to show Annie what’s on it. “It’s a wallpaper and it’s a Toy Story one!”

“I love Toy Story! I like Jessie and Woody and Buzz! Jessie’s hair is pretty, just like yours. But hers is red and yours is blonde.” She pointed out and Delphine smiled.

“We can put it up tomorrow and if you want to, you can help me. What do you say?”

“Yeah!” she said excitedly and jumped on the bed again.

“Careful! If you fall off the bed you’re going to hurt yourself.” Delphine warned, putting the wallpaper back. “Come on, let’s get you into that bathtub.”

 

“Do you need help?” Delphine was sitting on the toilet lid and Annie was looking at herself in the mirror. She shook her head no. “Do you want me to wait outside?”

“No, wait. Stay here.” She said. “Cosima helped me when I was here.”

“Do you want me to help you?” Delphine asked and this time the girl nodded. “Ok, take your dress out and I’ll fill the bathtub, okay?”

“Okay. No _peekies_.” Annie said as she turned around.

“Okay.” Delphine answered as she opened the faucet. She felt the water with her hands and when it was warm and filled up enough, she closed it.

Annie seemed a little shy with Delphine’s presence. She was looser with Cosima, but Delphine didn’t mind. They had a lifetime to get closer to each other.

“You don’t need to be shy, baby girl. I’m a girl, too, right?”

Annie chuckled. “Right.”

Delphine kneeled down beside the bathtub.

“So, put your clothes in the basket and get in. I’m going to wash your hair and while I do that, you wash your body. Deal?”

“Deal!” she said and snapped her hands in the water, splashing it all over Delphine.

“ _Hey!_ The water stays inside the bathtub!” she said laughing, accompanied by Annie. The girl splashed water on her again. “ _Stop it!_ ”

Cosima watched the scene with Theo, all clean and chugging his bottle of milk, in her arms from the doorframe. Her cheeks hurt from smiling.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really don't know if that's how foster care works (probably not), but I didn't want it to be extremely bad or anything like that. I still have hope, you know?   
> Let me know if the chapter melted your heart as well! My twitter is @tatxmasIany in case anyone wants to say hi or something (don't be shy!) and I'll see you next week!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More domestic cophine, if you will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! Here's a brand new chapter to you. There's some school activity going on in this chapter and let me warn you that I'm not canadian, so I don't know exactly how kindergarten works or schools in general, nor know schedules (I did look on some websites and it was all based on the info I found there).

“Do you know where we’re going today?” Delphine said before she took a bite of the pancake on her plate.

Cosima was sitting on the floor with a plate full of strawberry puree and a very active baby with cheeks covered with a layer of the red fruit, crawling around. Annie was sitting at the counter on a higher chair so she could reach the plates and bowls that were filled with bread, fruits and pancakes. She took a spoonful of chopped bananas, strawberry and kiwi from her plate and quickly turned her head to the side to look at Delphine, who was sitting next to her. 

“Mm-mm.” she shook her head. “Where?”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” Delphine reprehended. “We are going to look for a school. Your school.”

“School? I’m too little.”

“No, you’re not! You’re five already, you’re a big girl. You’ll have a lot of friends and you’ll learn how to read!” Cosima said to Annie as she tried to feed Theo another spoon of puree.

“I want to learn how to read! When can we go?”

Suddenly the girl was excited. She shoved spoon after spoon in her mouth and it seemed like she wasn’t even chewing. When her plate was clean, she hopped off the chair and straightened out her dress.

“I am ready. Let’s go.” She said as she walked out towards the door.

“Hey, young lady, calm down. Theo is still eating, Cosima hasn’t finished her breakfast and you didn’t brush your teeth. Come on, up to the bathroom.” Delphine stood up and put her plate on the sink to wash it right afterwards.

“Okay.” Annie answered and started running, literally, up the stairs. She slowed down and said quietly to herself. “No running in the stairs, remember? One step at a time.”

“Hey, chipmunk, can you bring a jacket for Theo? You know where they are, right?” Delphine asked from the kitchen as she washed the dishes quickly.

“Yeah, I know. If I don’t reach it I’ll just climb the chest.” Annie answered and kept going up the stairs until she was out of sight.

“ _No, you will not!”_ Cosima yelled from the kitchen, but the girl was long gone. “This girl, I’ll tell you…”

Delphine turned off the faucet and walked towards Cosima with a smile. She sat on the floor, next to the brunette, and took the plate from her hands. Theo smiled when he saw the blonde and tried to crawl faster, but ended up tripping in his own hands and fell. But, instead of crying, he started to laugh.

“I’ll give it to him. You finish your pancakes.” She said before she stole a strawberry from Cosima’s plate.

Cosima grabbed her plate from the arm of the couch and took a bite of her pancake. Theo quickly crawled back to her, trying to grab the pancake too.

“I’m happy she’s excited.” Cosima said, tearing a piece of the pancake and feeding to the baby. Delphine looked at her with raised brows, holding his plate up. “I’m sorry, I can’t resist.” She shrugged.

Delphine chuckled and turned her attention to the baby, filling a spoon with puree and feeding it to him when he wasn’t with the dough in his mouth anymore.

“I’m worried she’s on top of that chest trying to grab a jacket for him.” Cosima said, looking up at the top of the stairs. She tried to hear any noise coming from their room, but the house was silent. “Annie, are you okay in there?” she yelled.

“Yes, I am! Just putting on my shoes. I reached the closet and got Theo’s jacket and I didn’t even need to climb the chest! Just on my tip toes.” Annie yelled from her bedroom.

“Oh, thank God.” Cosima sighed.

“She’s a little rebel. Just like you. Sometimes I’m truly amazed by how much she looks like you and I’m not talking about physical appearance, it’s just your personality. It looks like she has your blood running in her veins.”

“Yeah, I know.” She smiled as her sight wandered at a blank spot. “I wonder how his personality is going to be. I mean, he already shows a little bit of it. How independent he is and how curious.”

Delphine fed him another spoon before he crawled his way up to her lap, grabbing the collar of her shirt and pulling it down. Cosima broke in laughter.

“He is curious, indeed.” Delphine said with raised eyebrows, pulling her shirt up again. “Yeah, I know _these_ might look like lunch, but this Dairy Queen is closed, okay? Your food is right here.”

“Okay, I’m going to put this in the sink and change really quick. Are you okay with the little monster by yourself?”

“Yeah, I’m good. I think he’s done. Are you all done?” Delphine asked him even though she knew she wouldn’t get an answer. She tried to feed him another spoon and when he turned his head from it, she knew the boy was full. “Yep, he’s done. I’ll change him and we’re ready to go.”

“Hurry up, people!” They heard Annie screaming from upstairs and they both broke in laughter, making Theo laugh as well.

* * *

 

The school they were putting Annie in wasn’t far from their house. Annie really liked the place and she was so excited to go there that, after three more schools, they decided that that was it. She was all settled to start next week.

“Do you have to go to work?” Annie said, not directing the question to Cosima or Delphine specifically. “Both of you.”

“Yeah, we do, but not until later. Auntie Natasha and auntie Shay are coming over to stay with you and your brother.” Cosima turned her head a little to the side, just enough for her to catch a glimpse of the girl sitting on the car seat behind her. “Is that okay?”

“That’s okay, I like them. They’re nice and make me laugh.”

“Okay, it’s settled.” Cosima said and smiled gently at her.

“I was thinking… Wait, what time is it?” Annie said.

“It’s 10:47AM. Why?” Delphine answered, looking briefly at the clock on the dashboard.

“Can we go to the park?” Annie asked quietly, almost like she was scared.

Delphine looked through the review mirror and saw Annie twirling her dress on her finger, shyly. They didn’t need to go to work until 1PM, so a little time out and some vitamin D wouldn’t hurt, right?

She looked at Cosima and got a nod from her.

“Why not?” The blonde answered and saw the girl cheer from her seat. Theo, who was almost falling asleep on his chair, jumped a bit with the sudden move coming from his sister.

“Careful!” Cosima said, pointing to Theo. Annie put both of her hands over her mouth and giggled.

“Sorry.” She whispered under her palms.

 

Delphine pulled up by the park a few minutes later. Cosima took Theo in her arms and Delphine took Annie by her hand as they walked into the playground, with Theo’s bag hanging on her shoulder. The couple found an empty bench and sat there, within a distance where they could still look over Annie.

“Don’t go much further, otherwise we can’t see you. Okay?” Cosima asked and the girl nodded before she ran into the slide.

“It’s so good to see her like this.” Delphine said, looking at Cosima and then at Theo, who was starting to wake up in Cosima’s arms. “She seems so happy.”

“She _is_ happy.” Cosima smiled. Theo had opened his eyes now, and, as usual, hadn’t cried. “Hey, baby boy.” Cosima said in a childish voice. Theo cooed and tried to grab her glasses. “Nope, not my glasses. I need them to look at your pretty face.”

“I know she’s happy, but… Ugh, I don’t know.” Delphine continued, sighing heavily. “I know the last three weeks she’s fine and she hasn’t cried or has had nightmares, but I’m scared. I’m scared she’ll turn into me.”

Delphine was uncomfortable talking about her in that situation, but she needed to. For the sake of her kid. Theo cried a little bit, so Cosima got up in order to calm him down.

“Did you bring his…” Cosima meant to ask for his bottle, but she stopped talking when Delphine held her hand up, handling her the blue bottle filled with orange juice. Cosima took it and offered to the boy, who took it immediately and calmed down as soon as he felt the liquid pouring down his throat. “Babe, I know you’re scared and you have every reason to be, but she seems to be doing just fine. We talk to her, we encourage her to talk about her feelings. She doesn’t seem to have a problem with opening up to us. She’s even excited to start out at the new school.”

“I know, but I was like that too. And I know now that even when I talked to my parents, even the slightest, it wasn’t enough.” Delphine said as she got up once she realized how unquiet the boy was. She started tracing lines and shapes on the baby’s forehead with her index finger and, in a matter of seconds, he got quieter and started chugging on the bottle again. “Maybe we should take her to a psychologist’s appointment. Just so we’re sure she’s fine.”

“Will it make you feel better?” Cosima simply asked. Delphine just nodded. “Ok then, we can make an appointment. But if she says she’s not comfortable, she stops. Immediately.”

“Of course.” Delphine agreed and kissed Cosima’s temple. She smiled gently at her. “Thank you.”

“And don’t worry about her turning into you. You’re amazing and if she does, she’ll be just as an amazing woman as the one you are. And I love you.” Cosima kissed her gently and Delphine could feel her smiling into the kiss.

“ _Je t’aime.”_ Delphine answered, not letting her own smile fade away.

“I think I’ll take Theo over there so he can play with Annie. Maybe we can put him on the slide?” Cosima said, covering her eyes from the rays of sun with one hand and holding Theo with the other.

“Let’s do it.” Delphine said, smiling to the baby. “He wants to play, doesn’t he? Yes, he does!” she did the same childish voice Cosima had done a few minutes ago before taking the baby in her arms so Cosima could adjust her shirt.

Annie was sitting on the swing, playing with a flower she had plucked out. A smile grew bigger on her face when she saw Cosima and Delphine getting closer.

“Hey! Are you going to play with me?” she asked, hopping off from the swing. “There are no kids here.”

“We know, bub. That’s why we are going to play with you! We’re taking Theo on the slide.” Cosima sounded excited, or at least she tried to, to cheer the girl up a bit. She bounced on her feet and clasped her hands together in excitement.

“I want to help him go down the slide too!” She said before she ran out to wait at the bottom of the slide.

Delphine and Cosima held Theo, each one on a side, at the top of the slide. The boy was having the time of his life, laughing at nothing.

“Are you ready, baby?” Delphine asked Annie, who just nodded. “We’re going to hold him until he reaches you, okay?” she nodded.

They dragged him down the slide and, when Annie hold him with two arms, they let go. The girl was laughing and so was Theo. They did that a couple of times again before Annie and Theo went on the swing.

One of the swings had a chair for smaller kids and the other one was a common swing. The one with the chair still was huge in comparison to Theo, since he was only eight months old, but it was better than the other one. Annie swung herself pretty high, while Cosima helped with little pushes on the girl’s back. Delphine held Theo on the swing and gently swung the boy, who was now laughing so hard his t-shirt was covered in drool.

“Why does he drool so much?” Annie asked between swings.

“It’s because his bottom teeth are coming up. When he gets annoyed for no apparent reason, it’s because his mouth hurts. The teeth are pushing against his gum.”

“Ouch. That must hurt. Once I hit my mouth on a cup and it hurt my gum. I cried.”

Cosima and Delphine laughed at the pout on the little girl’s face. She was just too precious.

“Ok, getting the baby out.” Delphine said as she took Theo out from the swing. “Why don’t you play with him over there, baby girl?” Delphine said, pointing to the sandbox, which had no actual sand – even though it was supposed to – and instead was filled with grass.

“Okay.” She said, slowly stopping the swing and jumping off of it.

Delphine walked until the sandbox and put Theo sitting inside of it. Annie sat right next to him, holding his back gently all the time. She knew her brother didn’t need it, but she wanted to be careful.

“Here, why don’t you play with these with him?” Cosima took a few toys from the bag and handled to Annie, who just nodded and started showing them to her little brother.

Delphine was sitting on the edge of the sandbox, Cosima right next to her. It had been only a couple of minutes until a lady, maybe in her 60s, approached them.

“Hi! I’m sorry to interrupt your time with your kids, but I was looking from over there and you seem like a very happy family. I mean, if you are a couple. Are you? I didn’t mean to jump to conclusion like that. You could be sisters or very good friends.” She said in her calm voice and sweet attitude and smile. Her white hair and green eyes gave Delphine some grandma nostalgic feelings and she felt nothing but fondness for the older woman. The gesture made Cosima and Delphine smile in response.

“Yes, we’re a couple. And thank you for that, really. It’s really sweet of you.” Cosima answered, holding Delphine’s hand on her lap.

“Oh, it’s my pleasure. I saw her all alone on that swing before you came in and I meant to ask her where her mother was because I hadn’t seen neither of you. So, when I caught up, I just had to tell you.” She smiled again, covering her eyes from the sun. “Well, I hope you have a nice day. You have beautiful children. See you around!”

“You are so sweet. Thank you!” Delphine said and smiled genuinely to the lady, who waved goodbye before she started walking out.

“Who was that lady?” Annie asked, looking up quickly at the couple before turning her attention back to her brother.

“Just some nice lady. She said we’re a beautiful family. Did you hear?” Delphine said.

“Yes, I did. We’re a family, right?” Annie asked with her gaze fixed on the toy in front of her. She seemed ashamed for asking them that.

“Of course we are, baby.” They got closer to them, holding Annie in a sandwich type of hug. “We’re here for you. Always. Okay?” Cosima asked and the girl simply nodded. “Do you want to go home?”

“Yes.” Annie answered. The girl sounded tired.

“Ok, let’s go then.”

Delphine picked up Theo and the toys, putting them back into the bag. The four of them walked away, Delphine and Cosima holding hands with Annie, who was in the middle of them. They walked out into the rays of sun towards the car while Annie spoke excitedly about the sunflowers she had seen in the garden right next to the sandbox and how they matched her dress. And it was beautiful.

 

* * *

 

**– A WEEK LATER –**

Annie’s classes wouldn’t start until 9AM, but the girl was awake two hours before. She sat on her bed and, staring at her sleeping brother across the room, she started whispering, hoping he’d at least listen to her.

“I have school today.” She said plucking the fur of her teddy bear. “I am a little bit scared because there will be a lot of kids and I won’t have Delphine and Cosima around, but I hope I like my teacher.”

A pause.

And then she started talking again.

“I’m going to ask Delphine to make me some strawberry pancakes. Or Cosima.” She said as she got up, walking towards the crib to find her brother still sleeping. “You’re still sleeping. I’m going to wake them up.”

She walked out of her room towards her mothers’. The door opened slowly with a loud squeak, but it didn’t wake them up. Annie waited a bit until she entered the room, on her tip toes, and walked to Cosima’s side of the bed. The tip of her fingers pressed gently against the bare skin of Cosima’s arm, flexed under the pillow.

“Cosima.” She whispered, but the brunette didn’t move. “Cosima!” she said a little bit louder now, shaking Cosima’s arm gently. Half a cornered-mouth smile appeared on Annie’s face when she saw Cosima slowly moving to face her. “Hi.”

“Good morning, chipmunk.” Cosima squinted to try to see the time on the clock on the nightstand. Her eyebrows knit together when she saw Annie was awake two hours earlier than usual – as it was 7:03AM. “What are you doing up this early? Did you have a bad dream?”

Annie shook her head. “No. I’m just nervous for school. And I’m hungry.”

Cosima reached for her glasses on the nightstand and sat on the bed, placing a kiss on Delphine’s forehead before she stood up.

“Okay, little one,” she said as she held out a hand to Annie. The girl didn’t hesitate to take it. “Let’s make you something to eat, then. Your brother won’t wake up for another hour or so. What do you want to eat?”

“Pancakes with strawberries.” She said as they walked down the stairs.

“With _strawberries?”_ Cosima said incredulous. “Ew. Gross. You’re a little weirdo, just like your mommy Delphine.”

“Hey! Don’t say that!” Annie reprehended before she hopped on the high chair set at the counter. Cosima went behind it, opened the fridge and took out the orange juice to pour a cup for each one of them.

Cosima and Delphine have been trying to incorporate the word “mommy” in Annie’s vocabulary when it comes to them, but with no success so far. They didn’t want to force it on the girl – they knew she had her own time –, but they thought it’d help her settle to her new life and to see them as motherly figures. When they talk to Theo they call each other “mommy” so he can learn it, but with Annie is different. She’s used to call someone else mom for five years and to change it all suddenly would be a little bit hard. Delphine had suggested that they would add their names to it so she wouldn’t get confused or hurt. Cosima felt kind of upset when the girl calls them by their names, but she knew it would take time until she adjusts to it. She also knew that it may not happen at all, but deep inside, she still has hope.

“Do you really want to put strawberries in it?” Cosima asked, without turning back to face Annie, while she mixed the pancake dough on a bowl with a cup of fresh strawberries set aside.

Annie hopped off the chair and walked towards Cosima. The brunette looked down at the girl, waiting for a response.

“Not _in_ it! On it. After you cook them, you chop the strawberries and put them _on_ top.”

“Oh, now that makes more sense.”

“Silly!”

“No, you’re silly!”

Cosima heard a muffled singing voice coming from upstairs, warning her that Delphine had woken up.

“Hey, what do you say we prank mommy Delphine?” Cosima whispered to Annie, who nodded quickly in excitement. “Ok, so, she’s coming down any minute now. We’re going to hide behind that wall and when she comes down the stairs we jump in front of her and we scream ‘boo’. Okay?”

“Okay! Let’s go.” Annie whispered back and ran to hide behind the wall.

Cosima followed the girl and put her index finger on her mouth, signaling to the girl to be silent. They could hear Delphine talking to herself upstairs.

“ _Oh, well, Theo is still sleeping, but Cosima is already up and so is Annie. Where are they, though?”_ she said quietly, but the silence in the house made it possible for them to hear her _. “They’re probably downstairs. I don’t smell anything, though. I wonder if they got out to get some bread or something. Let me just check…_ ”

As soon as Delphine set her foot on the last step of the stairs, Annie and Cosima jumped out from behind the wall, screaming, making Delphine jump too.

“Oh, mon Dieu, you two!” Delphine put her hand on her chest as Cosima and Annie broke in laughter. Cosima kissed Delphine quickly and went to the kitchen. “You almost killed me. Jesus Christ. Is this what a heart attack feels like?”

“We scared you!” Annie said, still laughing.

“You sure did!” Delphine smiled at the little girl. “Good morning, baby girl! Are you excited for your first day at school? I mean, I guess you are, since you woke up earlier than usual.”

“Yes, I am! I am nervous too. There will be a lot of kids.” She said as they walked back into the kitchen, where Cosima was already putting the pancake batter into the pan.

“I know, but they’re all going to be your friends. Don’t worry about that, okay? You will learn how to read, how to write and it’s going to be so much fun! We’ll walk you to your classroom today and meet your teacher.” Delphine said as she sat on the high chair next to Annie. “Hey, babe, can you make me some too, please?” She said to Cosima.

“I’m on it!”

“Everything will be fine, okay?” Delphine said, with a warm smile. Annie just nodded and smiled back. Delphine took a sip of the girl’s juice and handed it back to her.

“Hey, that’s mine!” She said, also taking a sip. “But we can share.”

 

* * *

 

 

When Natasha walked into the house, Delphine and Cosima were already with their hands full. Cosima had her suitcase in one hand, hers and Delphine’s jackets hanging on her other arm and a cup of coffee on her hand and Delphine had Annie’s backpack in one hand while she held the girl’s hand with the other.

“Am I late or something?” Natasha asked when she brushed past them.

“No! We’re late. I mean, Cosima’s late.” Delphine said before she placed a kiss on Theo’s forehead. “Mommy is coming back soon, okay? Be a good boy.”

“Kind of always late, so kind of always sorry.” Cosima said from the door.

“Thank you so much for taking care of him, Nat. You’re an angel.” Delphine said before she walked out the door and placed a quick kiss on Natasha’s cheek.

“No worries! He’ll be fine.” She said. “And you, little monkey, have fun at school, okay? Everything will be fine! I’ll be here when you come back.”

“Okay! Bye, auntie Natasha. Bye Theo!” the girl blew them a kiss and walked out the door with Cosima and Delphine.

 

They had to be at school twenty minutes before the start of Annie’s classes. It was 8:41AM when they pulled over in front of the school. Delphine looked at Annie through the review mirror and the girl seemed to be panicking.

“Hey, baby, what’s wrong?” Delphine said as she got out of the car. She opened the door to Annie’s side, but the girl didn’t get out.

“I don’t want to go.”

“But why?” Cosima asked, already out of the car.

“I am scared. I don’t want to go.” Annie said before she broke into crying, with her hands on her eyes.

“Hey, baby girl, it’s okay.” Delphine hugged the girl and her crying was muffled. “Hey, come out here. Let us talk to you.”

She unbuckled her seat belt, grabbed her backpack and handed it to Cosima. Annie stood between the car and Delphine and Cosima’s body. Her eyes were a little bit red, but no more tears came out.

“I know it’s scary. This is a big school, right? But there will be a lot of new kids too and you know what? They’re also scared. But I can guarantee you that you’re going to be okay and it’ll be super cool. You’ll love your new school. And if you don’t feel good, you can ask your teacher to call us and we’ll pick you up, okay?” Delphine tried to calm the girl, but she just kept staring at the huge building in front of her.

“We’re going to walk inside with you, show you around until we get to your classroom. Will it make you feel better?” Cosima asked while she wiped away the trail of tears on Annie’s face. The girl nodded. Both Cosima and Delphine placed a kiss on top of her head, at the same time. “Ok, let’s get inside.”

Annie held both of her hands up, each to one of them. Delphine and Cosima held her hand as they walked into the school. The girl kept looking around, seeing the bigger kids running around and some teachers talking to each other at the door.

“See? There’s a lot of kids and they’re all having fun!” Cosima pointed out to a group of girls running around and laughing. Annie didn’t respond, just nodded.

They walked around the building and showed it to Annie, who quickly seemed to lose all the fear and was curious to know what was written on the panels and where her classroom was going to be.

They walked into the principal’s office, as requested, and were welcomed by an older lady with a beautiful smile.

“Oh, hello! You’re starting today, right? It’s so nice to meet you. I’m Margaret. What’s your name?”

“I’m Annie.” She said, shyly.

“Well, hello, Annie! Welcome to our school! Are they your mommies?”

Annie didn’t respond instantaneously, but Cosima held her closer and answered for her. She didn’t notice the girl nodding lightly.

“Yes, we are.” she said. “It’s so nice to meet you, Margaret.”

“Oh, same! I believe you already showed her around?” she asked, going behind the table and pulling out a paper from a drawer.

“Yes, we did. She loves the school already. She’s curious, too.”

“Oh, she’s going to learn a lot! Right, Annie?”

“Right.” Annie said, a little more excited now.

“Well, she’s on classroom B21. You can have this,” she handed Delphine the paper. “it’s her grade with her classes and all you need to know is also there.”

“Thank you so much, Margaret.” Delphine smiled and looked down at Annie, who tried to look at the paper on Cosima’s hand.

They discussed some of Annie’s schedule before they walked down the halls until they found her classroom. Some kids had already arrived. Annie looked a little bit scared when she saw the kids and stepped back, hugging Cosima’s leg in an attempt to hide from the teacher.

“Hello! Are you Ms. Hood?” Delphine said to the tall, ginger woman with big green eyes standing at the door. She smiled before she answered them.

“Hello, I am! Please, call me Alice. We have a new friend today, huh?” She said as she noticed Annie hiding half of her body behind Cosima. “Hey! What’s your name?”

“Tell her your name, chipmunk.” Cosima said, caressing the girl’s hair.

“Oh, is your name chipmunk? Interesting!” Ms. Hood joked and Annie laughed.

“No, it’s Annie. She just calls me chipmunk because it’s cute. We met a chipmunk once and it was nice.” Annie said to the teacher, still attached to Cosima’s leg.

“Oh, it sounds nice! What about you tell me this story?” She held her hand out to the girl, who looked up at Cosima and Delphine, waiting for a confirmation. She let go of Cosima when they both nodded. “We’re going to have so much fun, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Yes, we are! And you can tell it all to your mommies when they come to pick you up. Do we have a deal?”

“Okay.” She smiled before she took a look inside the classroom.

“You’re going to be fine, baby girl. We love you!” Delphine said and placed a kiss on Annie’s forehead. Cosima did the same.

“We’ll see you in a bit. Have fun, okay? You can tell us all about the school when we get home.”

“Okay. I love you too.” She said, giving them a last hug.

A little girl approached them and smiled at Annie.

“Hi! What’s your name?” she asked.

“I’m Annie. What’s your name?”

“I’m Rebecca. Do you want to come play with us?”

The girl had beautiful brown, thin, hair and big blue eyes. Even though she had delicate traces, her voice was deep and husky.

Annie nodded in response and followed the girl inside the room.

“Seems like she won’t have a problem with making friends.” Alice said as they watched Annie sit in a circle with the other kids.

“We hope not.” Cosima said. “She’s shy, but once she gets used to them, it’ll be easy.”

They talked to Alice for about five minutes before they left the school with heavy hearts. Leaving Annie there was weird since she seemed to be scared about the whole situation, but they needed to. She was going to be fine and they knew she would have fun and have a lot of stories to tell.

A lot of new, happy memories to take the bad memories’ place.

Delphine’s mind was somewhere else.

_Everything was going to be fine._

_She’s fine._

Cosima wrapped an arm around Delphine’s waist as they walked out past the fence and gave her a kiss on the crook of her neck and smiled at her; the most beautiful smile Delphine had ever seen.

Annie’s smile looked like hers.

Delphine smiled.

_We’re all fine._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think about the chapter! I hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you next week :)


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie has some school issues, some family talk and Delphine receives a surprise call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't have time to proofread it before I post it, any typos/errors let me know.
> 
> Flashback in italics!

Delphine stared at the paper in her hands for a few seconds before she called out Cosima’s name. Annie was sitting on the couch, next to her, with her head low and playing nervously with the hem of her sweater.

“What’s going on?” Cosima came down the stairs, Theo in her arms. She put the baby down on the mat and sat on the couch. “Is there something wrong?”

“Annie got a warning from her teacher because she didn’t do her homework.” Delphine said, making Annie shrug further into the couch. She wasn’t mad or disappointed. Annie was a kid and she could’ve just forgotten about it. It was normal.

“A warning?” Cosima said as she took the paper from Delphine’s hand. “Chipmunk, what happened? You never miss homework.”

“I don’t know, I forgot about it.” Annie responded quietly, clearly ashamed of the situation. “I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay, it’s the first time. But if it happens again we’ll have to change your routine, okay?” Cosima said, locking her eyes with Delphine after she spoke. Annie nodded her head gently in agreement.

“Are you mad at me?” The girl asked, looking at Cosima and then switching her gaze to Delphine.

“What? No! We’re not mad. These things happen, but it’s not cool if they happen often, okay?” Delphine said, pulling the girl’s head closer to her to place a kiss on her temple. Annie nodded in agreement. “Do you have homework today?”

“I do. Alice taught us today at school how to do it.”

“Ok, we’re going to help you do it now and then you’ll take a shower and when you’re done you can watch TV, if you want to.” Cosima said as she sat on the floor to watch over Theo.

“Okay!” Annie said, taking her notebook from her backpack, still on the couch.

“Na-nah! Counter.” Delphine reprehended and pointed out to the counter.

As Annie walked towards the counter, Delphine took her backpack and set it on the cold, marbled surface. Her schoolbag wasn’t heavy – she only took two notebooks and a pencil case.

“Ok, let’s see what we have here.” Delphine said as she opened Annie’s notebook.

“I’m learning how to write my name!” she said in excitement as she showed Delphine the paper with her name written all over it in crooked letters. She turned to show it to Cosima, who was getting up the floor with Theo in her arms to sit at the counter with them.

“That’s beautiful, baby girl.” Delphine slid her finger on the writing like she could feel it and smiled at Annie.

“You’re getting better each day.” Cosima pulled the paper closer to her and couldn’t help the half smile growing.

“Thanks. I try my best.”

Delphine quickly found the folded papers inside her notebook and unfold it to find her homework. It was a two-piece homework, where she had one paper filled with seven lines of the alphabet in box letters and another one, glued to her notebook, with stickers indicating boy or a girl and a line for her to write on. She put it in front of Annie and waited to see what the girl would say.

“I have to paint on this paper,” she touched it with her index finger, “the letters of my name in blue… or yellow. I forgot.” She said, crinkling her nose.

“It’s okay. It’s all written down here. You have to paint _your_ name in blue, the first letter of your siblings in yellow, if you have them—”

“I have a sibling! There he is!” she said loudly, pointing to Theo, who was chewing a toy sitting in his high chair.

“Yes! So, you’re going to paint the first letter of his name in yellow. And then in green the first letter of your mom and the first letter of your father… in red.”

Delphine felt a wave of discomfort run through her as she read the instructions. Cosima looked at her and she was a little bit uncomfortable too.

“Oh! Alice asked me to show you this.” Alice said as she took the smaller notebook from her backpack and opened it on the marker Cosima had made for her.

There was half of a page written in a beautiful handwriting. Cosima stood up and walked behind Delphine to read the note, that said:

“ _Dear parents,_

_I wanted to apologize in advance for Annie’s homework. I share the activities with another teacher from the same grade and I don’t think she had in mind when she elaborated the exercise that a family is not only made of a man and a woman. I am deeply sorry and I didn’t mean to offend or exclude you. I will make sure the mistake doesn’t happen again._

_Annie can do her homework as she pleases – if she wants to paint the first letters of your names both in green or red, that’s fine. If she wants to do another color, she’s free to do so! Let her imagination run on this one._

_See you soon!_

_Alice.”_

Delphine sighed and felt her cheek trembling in an attempt to a half smile. It was really thoughtful of her to write them the note, even though it wasn’t something she was obliged to. Cosima sighed behind her and Delphine looked back and saw Cosima nod gently before giving Delphine a quick kiss.

Annie stared at them waiting for a response. The kisses didn’t bother her, not even when she first saw them kissing. For her it was completely normal.

Not completely.

__________

 _“Ew, you’re drooling all over each other,”_ _she said after Cosima grabbed Delphine by the hip and pulled her in for a kiss._

_“No, we’re not!” Delphine said reluctantly, trying to hold a laugh._

_“Yes, you are! I can see the drool.”_

_“Ok, it’s not drool. It’s saliva.” Cosima corrected her, making the girl cross her arms in front of her chest._

_“It’s the same thing.” She said, stubbornly._

_“So, you don’t mind if I kiss her? I mean, in front of you?” Delphine asked nicely, her arms still wrapped around Cosima’s waist._

_Annie raised her eyebrows just a little bit._

_“Me? No, I don’t.” she said calmly, gently. “Why?”_

_“Because some people think it’s wrong or gross, just because we’re two women.” Cosima explained._

_“I don’t think it’s wrong. I’ve seen people kiss on tv.” She said. “And it’s only gross because there is drool.”_

_“It is NOT drool!” Cosima said loudly throwing her arms up in the air, her voice raising an octave. “Drool is what babies do. When you can’t keep it in your mouth. That’s drooling. This is not drool.”_

_“Cosima! Leave her alone. She’s a kid.” Delphine grabbed Cosima’s wrists and lowered her arms, pulling her in for another kiss. This time, when they parted, a thin string of saliva could be seen between their lips._

_“See?!” Annie said loudly, pointing to their mouths. “Drool.”_

_“Oh, I’m going to show you who’s drooling.” Cosima let go of Delphine and ran after the girl and pulled her in a hug before she started tickling her sides, making her burst in laughter._

____________

“Okay, little one,” Cosima started. “Let’s get to painting.”

“Can I do your names first?” she asked, reaching for her pencil case.

“Well, sure.” Delphine said. “Ms. Hood said that you can color our letters however you want to. If you want to paint both in green, both in red or any other color, you can do it.”

“I want to paint your name in purple. You and Cosima.” She said, grabbing her purple pencil from inside the case and holding it up to show Delphine.

“Ok, do it, then.” Delphine said, sliding the paper next to the girl. “Why purple, though?”

“Because it’s my favorite color and you’re my favorite people.” Annie responded with a smile before she stared at the paper.

“Oh, I can’t with you, kid.” Cosima said before she pulled her in and kissed the top of her head. Delphine smiled and she felt the back of her eyes burning and the barrier of water trying to break into her eyes. She grabbed Annie’s face gently and pulled her closer, leaving a loud smack as she gave a kiss on her cheek.

“I’m going to write our names on this paper and you’re going to tell me which letter is for each of us, okay?” Delphine said as she wrote in big, capital letters her name and Cosima’s. Annie nodded.

“Okay, this one,” she pointed to her name, “is my name. Can you spell it for me?”

“D-E-L-P-H-I-N-E” Annie said slowly as Delphine slid her finger across every letter.

“Ok, now Cosima’s name.”

“C-O-S-I-M-A”

“Very good. And what’s the first letter of my name?”

“It’s a D!” Annie answered letting the excitement of getting it right run through her body. “Then I’m going to paint this letter D in purple.”

“Yes! And what’s the first letter of Cosima’s name?”

“It’s a C! Just like the song.” Annie said and started coloring the letter C on the first alphabet row of the paper. And then she started singing to Delphine. “A, B, C – that’s Cosima – D – that’s you – E, F, G…”

She stopped for a second and her face seemed to drop. Delphine frowned and waited to see her next reaction.

“When Alice told us what our homework was I got a little bit sad.” She said.

“Why?” Delphine asked, even though she already knew the answer.

“Because when she said about our parents it made me miss my mom Elena.” She said, her voice with a little bit of sadness that made Delphine’s heart ache.

Cosima, who was chopping some fruit to feed Theo in the kitchen, stopped for a minute and turned around to pay better attention.

“But I know she’s at that beautiful place she told me about once, with my grandma.” Annie said with a half-smile. “They’re probably cooking lentil soup and coconut rice together. I didn’t like the lentil soup at first, but my mom made me eat it a lot of times and now I kind of miss it.”

“Do you want to paint the letter of her name too? We can do it if you want to.” Delphine said, being as careful as possible to not say a word out of place.

“No, that’s okay. I know she’s happy that you’re taking care of me now.” She said gently and turned her attention back to her painting.

“You know what?” Cosima said from the kitchen, putting the plate and the knife down. “What do you say if we cook lentil soup and coconut rice for dinner today?”

“You know how to cook it?” Annie asked. Suddenly her face was glowing.

“I mean, the Google exists for a reason.” Cosima joked, causing Annie to chuckle. “I’m going to get the recipe, go to the supermarket to buy the ingredients with Theo while you finish your homework with mommy Delphine, is it okay?”

“Okay!”

“ _The_ Google?” Delphine mocked.

“Shut up!” Cosima laughed.

“Language.” Annie warned, with her voice muffled due to the position of her head, down close to the paper, without looking away from her school work and Delphine raised her eyebrows and tilted her head to the side, pointing at the girl.

“Sorry, chipmunk.” Cosima gave the girl a kiss and she smiled at the contact. “And you, pretty thing, are going out with me.” She bent down and took the crawling baby in her arms.

“I’ll send you a text with the recipe.” Delphine said as she saw Cosima leaving, noticing the woman had forgotten to look for the recipes and for the needed ingredients.

“Ok, be quick because it’s starting to get cold outside and I can’t be with him out there for so long.” Cosima said and Delphine nodded in response. “Love you!”

“Bye!” Delphine blew a kiss.

“Love you too!” Annie yelled back.

Delphine waited until she couldn’t hear the car’s engine anymore before she turned to Annie.

“Ok, young lady. Mommy needs your help.” Delphine said, making Annie face her and put her pencil down.

Annie’s eyes widened at each word Delphine told her. Delphine smiled. It was going to work out perfectly.

Delphine’s phone rang and she felt a current of joy run through her as she read the name on the screen.

_“Hello, Eugene!”_

_“Hi, Delphine! It’s been quite some time. How are you?”_

_“I am doing great, thank you! What about you? Is everything okay?”_

_“Yes, everything is perfectly fine. Am I interrupting something? Are you busy with the kids?”_

_“No, not at all! I’m just helping Annie with her homework.”_

“Who is it?” Annie whispered.

“It’s your grandpa Gene.” Delphine muted the phone and whispered back.

“Oh, okay. Tell him I said hi!”

 _“Annie says hi, though.”_ Delphine said back onto the phone.

_“Oh, tell her I’m looking forward to see her. That’s why I called you and not Cosima. Sally and I are going to Toronto tomorrow! But don’t worry, we’re booked a hotel room. We’re staying for a week and we were hoping we could meet the kids. But don’t tell Cosima, we want to make a surprise.”_

_“Oh, it’s so good to hear that! And of course you can meet them. Annie has asked about you and grandma Sally.”_ Delphine chuckled and saw Annie nodding her head as she heard her name. _“What time does your plane land?”_

_“At noon. We’re leaving early.”_

_“Ok, that’s great! What do you say we all have dinner tomorrow? I won’t tell Cosima that’s a special dinner.”_

_“Oh, that sounds lovely, darling. It’s settled then. Thank you!”_

_“Not a problem! I’m looking forward to see both of you tomorrow. Do you need me to pick you up from the airport?”_

_“No need, darling. We’re perfectly fine taking a cab, but thank you. I got to go. Sally is calling me to help her finish pack her bags. See you tomorrow! Bye bye.”_

_“Bye! Safe flight tomorrow.”_  And then the line went mute.

“What did he say?” Annie asked. Delphine noticed the girl had exchanged the pencils and now had a blue on hands. “Did I do this right?”

Annie handed Delphine the paper with letters painted in purple and yellow.

“C and D for Cosima and Delphine and T for Theo.” she explained as her index finger pointed to the painted letters.

“You did! And I didn’t even need to help you with Theo’s. Good job, baby girl! High five.” Delphine smiled gently at Annie, clearly proud of each achievement. She held her hand up in the air, waiting for the girl to hit it with her own hand.

“And what grandpa Gene said on the phone is a surprise. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see.”

“No, please tell me!” she whined, shaking Delphine’s arm.

“No can do. Did you finish your homework already? Because you need to take a bath.”

“Yes, I did.” She said, pointing to the blue letter A she had just colored.

“Ok, so put it all back in your backpack and up you go, straight to the bathroom.” Delphine said as she hopped off the chair, taking her phone with her. As a force of habit, she lighted up the screen and saw a lot of texts from Cosima.

_Cosima (5:42pm): hey if you could send me that recipe it’d be great_

_Cosima (5:44pm): your child is screaming his lungs off and i don’t know what he wants!!!!! help_

_Cosima (5:46pm) I found out what he wanted and it was chocolate. the one that has colorful bears on the package. can i feed a 8mo baby chocolate_

_Cosima (5:48pm) I bought him the chocolate. he has his hands covered in chocolate and saliva rn it’s so cute. also if you could hurry up with those ingredients it’d be great because im not buying him more chocolate_

Delphine laughed at the end of the last message and quickly searched for the recipes to send her.

_Delphine (5:52pm): I’ll send you a screenshot with the recipe wait a minute_

_Delphine (5:52pm): [photo]_

_Delphine (5:53pm): And I can’t believe you bought him chocolate just because he liked the package. Did you know that chocolate contains dairy products and nuts that can give him an allergic reaction?_

_Cosima (5:53pm): oh thank god i was mingling for 10 minutes in this place_

_Cosima (5:53pm): and fyi i did know that but he was crying. he wanted the chocolate. what was i supposed to do? say no? TO HIM?! you’re cruel. now i gotta go buy some lentils and i have a baby with me so see you later alligator_

_  
_ Delphine smiled at the messages and suddenly a wave of happiness hit her. It was surreal how much her life had changed in the past three months. All of her dreams of having kids one day and teaching them homework or arguing with Cosima what would they make for dinner to them were now true. And she was so happy she didn’t even bother if the dark circles under her eyes were a tone darker or if she had six hours of sleep now instead of eight. If before she would get annoyed by a cup out of place, now she happily took every toy Theo would leave sitting around the house and put it away.

She put her phone in the back pocket of her jeans and grabbed Annie’s backpack.

“Let’s go, kid.” Delphine said as she walked towards Annie, who had hopped off the chair, pushing the girl gently towards the stairs.

“When is Cosima coming back?”

“Soon. Are you hungry?” Delphine asked, receiving a nod in response. “We can eat some strawberries and blueberries while we wait for Cosima, ok? But first, the shower.”

“Okay, okay!” Annie rolled her eyes and exhaled heavily before she entered the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes was enough for Annie to be all clean and sitting on the couch, legs crossed beneath her and a bowl with strawberries while she watched Steven Universe on the tv. Delphine was sitting behind her, gently brushing her long, now wet, hair.

“Hey, baby?” Delphine called her and heard her humming in response. “Can I ask you something?” she nodded gently. “I need you to look at me, okay? I’m going to mute the tv, just for a minute.”

Delphine stopped brushing her hair when she started moving and turning herself around to face the blonde, taking enough care to not drop the berries on the couch. She knew that they would leave a stain.

“Okay, I’m looking at you.”

“First, I want you to be extremely honest with me. And second, it’s not a big deal, really. No need to be afraid or anything, I swear.”

Delphine studied the girl’s face, which was peaceful. She took a deep breath before she continued.

She didn’t know how.

“So, mommy Cosima and I have been talking about you and your brother. He’s just a baby, so I don’t think he really needs to right now, but we were talking about taking you to talk to a really nice doctor. Don’t worry, she won’t give you shots or medicine or anything like that, you’ll only talk.”

“But why?” she asked as she shoved another blueberry in her mouth.

“Because sometimes, when something happens in our lives, it can really shake us up inside, you know? And we don’t even realize it until it’s too late. Sometimes we can get really sad and we don’t know why. This doctor is going to help with that.”

“I don’t like being sad.”

“Me neither! And my _maman_ never took me to this doctor, so sometimes I do feel a little bit sad and I don’t know exactly how and what to do to make myself feel better. And we don’t want that happening to you. We just want what’s best for you and if you’re not comfortable, we understand.”

For a moment Delphine forgot she was talking to a five-year-old child. Annie definitely was smarter and even more mature sometimes than kids her age. The way she spoke and handled some situations were just not normal for a kid, even the older ones. Conversation with her was easy, even when Delphine let slip some difficult words, she would ask what that means and just return to the conversation. She liked toys, but she loved books. And she loved when Cosima read to her before bed. She also loves when Delphine teaches French to her because, her words, _“she loves learning new things”._

“Okay, I’ll go.” She said with a shrug.

“You will?”

“Yes. As long as she doesn’t give me shots.”

Delphine giggled.

“No, I swear she won’t. She will be like your new friend. You’re going to talk about everything and if you’re confused about something she will help you.”

“It sounds fun. I like having friends.”

“See? It’ll be fine, then.”

“But what if I don’t like it?”

“Then you don’t need to go. We won’t force you.”

“Okay. Will you and Cosima go with me?”

“You want us to?” she nodded. “Then we will.”

“Okay then.” Annie said, giving her a quick smile before she looked down at her bowl again, grabbed a strawberry and took a bite. “You want some?” she offered it to Delphine. She smiled gently and just shook her head no, making Annie shrug and keep eating her berries.

“Can I go back to Steven now?” Delphine nodded to the request and unmuted the tv. The girl scooched to the side and cuddled up on Delphine’s embrace.

 

**______________________________**

One hour and a half later the dinner table was set with a bowl of white rice and another filled with lentil soup, which Annie had been staring with watery mouth since Cosima put the pan on the stove with the ingredients on it.

“It probably doesn’t taste as good as your grandma’s but we tried.” Cosima said as she put a spoonful of soup in her mouth, groaning in pleasure right after. “But it _does_ taste good. Oh, my. This is really good.”

Annie had already eaten half of her plate and she didn’t even seem to chew. She was just slurping the soup down.

“It’s delicious and it reminds me of my grandma’s living room.” Annie said with her mouth still full.

“Did you like it?” Delphine asked, genuinely surprised. Annie nodded in response. “We’re happy, then. But don’t talk with your mouth full, okay?”

“Sorry.” she didn’t bother to swallow before she answered, which she knew was wrong, but then she smiled beautifully at Cosima and Delphine.

They ate for a while in a complete silence, just silverware clanking on the plates and Theo’s cooing as Delphine fed him.

“You know what Annie told me earlier?” Delphine broke the silence, saying mostly to Cosima.

“What?”

“She agreed to go talk to the psychologist.” Cosima raised her eyebrows in a surprised reaction, but it turned into a kind smile in a blink of an eye. She was really happy and she hoped for the best, hoped it wouldn’t be bad or that Annie wouldn’t be scared to go.

“Really? That’s so good to hear, munchkin!” Cosima said and reached for Annie’s arm, rubbing it gently with her thumb. “And Delphine told you that you don’t need to be scared, right? That she will be your friend no matter what. If you can’t tell us something, if you’re scared, you can talk to her too.”

“I know, she told me.” Annie took a sip of her orange juice before she spoke. “I’m not scared because I know she won’t give me shots.”

Cosima giggled.

“Yeah, she won’t. But you know you can tell us anything, right? You don’t need to be afraid. We’re here for you. Always.”

“I know.” She smiled.

“We love you very much, okay, little thing?” Delphine said and placed a kiss on the girl’s temple.

“I love you too. And Theo loves you too. I’m saying for him because he can’t, but I know he does. Look, he’s eating your finger.” She said pointing to the baby sitting in the high chair. His shirt was all stained with food he had drooled and spat, but it didn’t matter when he had the most beautiful smile – even though he only had three teeth.

“Do you think grandma Sally will like the soup like my grandma did?” Annie asked out of nowhere, which wasn’t unusual for her. She was always starting new subjects in the middle of the current ones. “She can try it when she arri—”

“When she arrives for the holidays, yes! We can make it for her.” Delphine said before Annie could finish the sentence. She widened her eyes to Annie, as a signal, to see the girl raising her eyebrows and put her hands over her mouth.

“My mother called?” Cosima frowned. She took the plates to the sink with the help of Delphine and Annie, who carried the box of orange juice back to the fridge.

“Yes. Your father, actually. It was supposed to be a surprise but they said they’re coming over… for, um, the holidays. Next month.” Delphine tried to disguise and, luckily, she was successful.

“Oh, nice! I wonder why they didn’t call me.”

“He said your phone went straight to voicemail.” Delphine lied.

“Oh, yeah, my phone is always dying. I really need a new one.” Cosima reached for the shopping bags and took the chocolate she had bough for Theo out. “I’m going to give Theo another piece. Look at him,” she said, pointing to the baby who was hitting his hands excitedly on his chair. “he wants more.”

“He’s probably that excited because he probably ate more sugar than he was supposed to. Isn’t that right, Cosima Niehaus?” Delphine reprehended as she cleaned the table towel and put it back on.

“Hey! I didn’t give him that much.” She broke a small piece, small enough that Theo could hide it in his hand if he made a fist, and gave it to him. Theo quickly smashed his hand on his mouth, leaving a trail of saliva and chocolate on his cheeks.

“He’s making a mess!” Annie said and chuckled. “Hey. I want a piece too!”

“I knew you would, chipmunk, so I bough one for you. A whole package just for you.” Cosima said as she walked reached the bag again and pulled a new, unopened, package of chocolate and gave it to the girl.

“It’s all for me?” she asked. “Thank you!” she hugged Cosima and started to open it. She tried, but the plastic seemed to be beating to her. She held it up to Cosima. “I can’t. Please?”

“Don’t eat too much, okay? Or your mommy will kill me.” She said, opening the package with a loud noise. Annie took one bigger piece and bite it, humming in pleasure as the chocolate hit her tongue.

“And because I bought you a pack of gummy bears and Crunchies. But don’t tell mommy Delphine, okay?” Cosima bent down a bit and whispered to Annie’s ear. The girl started bouncing and laughed in excitement, whispering _okay_ back.

“Hey, what are you two whispering about? Is it about me?” Delphine said, staring at them, from the sink. She had just finished cleaning the dishes, setting the last plate on the dish rack.

“We were saying that we love you _soo_ much!” Annie ran to her and let her body collide with Delphine’s, emphasizing the last part. She hugged her tight until Delphine bent down and picked the girl up.

“Oh, is that so? Well, I love you _soo_ much more!” Delphine said as she gave the girl three kisses on her cheek.

“No, I love you both _soo_ much more.” Cosima approached them and hugged both of them at the same time. She gave Annie a lot of kisses on the cheek and then kissed Delphine quickly.

“And… we love you _a lot!_ ” Delphine said, emphasizing the last part, before she put the girl down and started poking the girl’s ribs. She broke in laughter when Cosima joined her and suddenly all of them were laughing and having a good time. Theo yelled from his high chair, trying to get some attention. He chuckled and cooed a couple of times before Delphine smiled and walked towards him to pick him up, placing a lot of kisses on the clean sides of his cheeks. Cosima hugged them both and kissed Theo’s chubby hand. Annie did the same and laughed. “We love you too, little thing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and see you next Saturday!


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie has her first appointment with the psychologist, Cosima is surprised by her parents and another surprise at the end of an exhaustive day that could brighten up even the darkest days for Delphine and Cosima.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, guys! How you all doing?  
> This chapter contains Annie’s point of view. You’ll know when it comes. It’ll be written in first person, like if it was Annie telling the story and not a narrator. Thoughts in italics.

“Are you done with these samples?” Delphine reached for the tray next to Cosima, who had her full attention on the microscope in front of her.

It took a couple of seconds until Cosima caught up on what was happening.

“Oh, yeah, I am. Do you need them?”

“I’m just going to finish them up so I can go pick up Annie from school and then Theo. If you’re going to take longer with those I can go pick them up and then I pick you up and all of us can go to Annie’s appointment. Is that okay for you?”

“Oh, there’s that today.” Cosima said as something clicked inside her brain. She had forgotten Annie’s psychologist appointment was schedule for today and suddenly she felt a cold sensation at the tip of her stomach.

Delphine just nodded and hummed _mm-hm_.

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary.” Cosima said, as she slid the microscope slide off. “I’ll be done here in a bit, probably when you’re done with yours.”

“Even better.” Delphine chuckled. “I can’t be out with both kids at the same time without you. Even though Annie is an angel, Theo can drive me crazy sometimes.”

“You can’t be without me, period.” Cosima joked.

“True.”

15 minutes later Delphine was finished with her samples and Cosima was finishing hers. While the blonde waited for Cosima to analyze her last sample of bloody fibers, Delphine packed their things in a hurry. They were supposed to be at the clinic in an hour and if they didn’t leave in ten minutes they would be late.

“Stop mingling, babe. I told you already,” Cosima said as she took the oversized acrylic glasses off and put them inside the drawer of the desk. “kind of always late, so kind of always sorry.”

Delphine watched Cosima putting the samples in the freezer and cleaning up her space in a hurry, which caused the blonde to worry a bit. Cosima could be one clumsy girl and if she happened to break a microscope slide, they’d be screwed.

“I know, babe, but Annie’s psychologist doesn’t know about that.

“Ok, done.” Cosima said as she grabbed her jacket from the chair before she turned off the lights and hooked her arm on the crook of Delphine’s. “Let’s go!”

“Do you think she’ll talk to her?” Delphine asked out of nowhere after a moment of comfortable silence.

“Maybe. Yeah, I think she will. She doesn’t seem to have a problem with sharing, but we never know. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

 

**______________________________**

“Hey, little one! How was school today?” The blonde asked as soon as Annie got into the car.

Delphine had stayed in the car while Cosima went inside to pick up the girl. When she saw them walking towards the car, backpack hanging from Annie’s shoulders, her little hand clasped together in Cosima’s and their smiles as they talked excitedly about something, Delphine felt her heart skipping a beat as a current of joy run through her spine.

“It was cool! At break do you know what we saw? Four chipmunks! Four! There were two big ones and two little ones. Teacher Alice said they’re a family. And they were so cute! Then I told her that I saw a chipmunk once with Cosima when I was with Maria and Laura and that they don’t bite unless they feel scared.” She said excitedly as she buckled up her seat belt while Delphine drove off, almost running out of breath.

“Slow down a little. Breathe!” Cosima said jokingly and saw, through the review mirror, Annie taking a deep breath. “And it sounds really fun! You had a good time then, huh?”

“I did! And my new friend, Rebecca, said that she loved the Mickey shaped apple slices you put in my lunch bag.”

“Oh, she did?” Cosima asked proudly of her idea. “We can send her some tomorrow, too. It’ll be a surprise, okay?”

Annie nodded and seemed to finally notice her brother on the chair next to her. He was looking at her and had a big smile as he watched his big sister talk to their mommies.

“Theo is smiling at me. I think he likes me.” She said holding back a laugh.

“What!? Of course he likes you! You’re his big sister. He loves you!” Delphine said, clearly shocked. “All of us.”

“That’s why you’re taking me to the doctor now, right? Because the way to home is the other one right there and you just missed it.” Annie pointed to the curve, that was now far behind, watching the figures made by the trees through the window as Delphine drove in a different path.

“Exactly!” Delphine said.

The road to the clinic was the same they had taken to go to Camila’s office and it gave Cosima a weird feeling as they passed through the same spot with the high, big trees. The sun was nowhere near to be down and it was clear as a diamond outside, but the brunette couldn’t help the feeling returning.

“Remember when we past this exact same road three months ago to go to Camila’s office?” Cosima said, rubbing Delphine’s thigh with her thumb gently. “Feels like it was yesterday.”

“It does. You were so scared we wouldn’t get them. And also because of the trees, because it was dark out, remember?”

“Yeah, I do.” Cosima answered as she took a glance at the kids on the backseat. Both of them asleep. “You thought I was worried they’d be scared of the trees too, remember that?”

Cosima said, looking at Delphine now. The blonde put on a shy smile and nodded. The brunette stared at the kids one more time, memorizing their face expressions – so peaceful now. Theo didn’t seem to be bothered by anything, sleeping heavily. Annie seemed to be comfortable as well, her body giving up to the exhaustion from the day as her eyelids started to get too heavy for her to keep them wide open. Cosima smiled. Delphine, looking at the kids through the review mirror, smiled too.

“Well, I think they’re going to be fine. No need to worry about that.”

**___________________**

The silence in the clinic was almost deafening as they walked in. Cosima had Theo in her arms and Delphine held Annie’s hand. The girl wasn’t worried about going in the day before or on the way there, but as soon as they stepped into the building, she went mute and her face expression was of fear. Delphine simply held her hand and gave her a warm smile, which was more than enough for the girl to be calmer.

“Why don’t you sit over there a bit with mommy Cosima while I go talk to that nice lady over there?” Delphine whispered to Annie as they walked into the room. The girl nodded and grabbed the hem of Cosima’s sweater while they walked to sit on the chairs.

“What’s happening, baby girl?” Cosima asked Annie gently, placing Theo down on her lap as she sat on the cushioned chair.

“I’m a bit scared now. This place looks like a hospital.” She said quietly after she took a look around and spotting a _silence!_ plaque.

“It sure does, but it’s nothing like one, okay? Remember what we talked about?” Annie nodded. “There’s no need to be scared. Mommy Delphine is going in with you, right?”

“Yes, I asked her to. Are you mad? That I asked her to come in with me?”

“Oh, baby, not even a bit. If both of us went in who would take care of Theo?” Cosima smiled and cupped the girl’s cheek. “You and mommy Delphine are more alike than you think. You’ll see it, one day.”

“Annie?”

A tall, ginger, woman walked out from behind the closed door in front of them. Her hazel eyes were hidden behind glasses and her hair, shoulder length, was gently brushing against the tip of her clavicle. From the gap of the door you could see inside the room. It had an infantile wallpaper and the edge of her table had some dolls and miniatures of stuffed animals.

Annie caught the woman smiling at her and gently smiled back. She looked at Delphine, who just held out a hand to her.

“It’s going to be fine, baby girl.” Cosima gave her a kiss on the cheek before she stood up and walked with Delphine towards the woman.

“Hello, Annie! I’m Nicole. It’s so nice to meet you.” Annie simply smiled at her and observed as she talked to Delphine. “You’re Delphine, right? Her mom? Pleasure to meet you. Come in.”

The ginger made space for them to walk inside the room and make themselves comfortable on the L shaped couch in the corner of the room before she closed the door and sat on the cushioned, chic, chair next to the couch.

“I really like your t-shirt, Annie! Do you know what it says?” Nicole asked, not ignoring Delphine’s presence.

“I do. I know what letters they are, but I don’t know how to read it yet. She told me that it means love.” Annie looked down at her torso, where a rainbow was set along with the “ _Love is love”_ phrase.

“I told her what it meant for us, anyway. For our family.” Delphine said and Nicole immediately shifted her gaze to her. “My wife and I adopted them, she and her brother, a while back, after her mother passed. We work at the TPD so we accompanied their case closely. And her case… It hit too close to home for me because what happened to her is basically the same of what happened to me when I was her age.”

“Oh, I see.” Nicole said, raising her eyebrows. Suddenly it seemed that something had clicked inside her head. “And how do you like living with Delphine and…”

“Cosima!” Annie answered before Delphine had the chance to. “I like it. They’re nice to me and my brother. She makes me bunny pancakes for breakfast and Cosima gives me chocolate before dinner sometimes, but she asks me not to tell her.” The girl said it all shifting looks between Delphine and Nicole, who just nodded gently and smiled genuinely at the girl.

“Oh, this is new…” Delphine says as she looked jokingly reprehensive at Annie and smiled to reassure to her that everything is fine and she won’t be in trouble for the candy eaten before dinner. She rubbed Annie’s knee gently while the girl bounced her legs up and down.

“They’re such good mommies, aren’t they?” Nicole asked and noticed a little, almost unnoticed, shrug coming from Annie. Delphine noticed it too, making the blonde worry.

“They are. I love them!” Annie said quietly and smiled shyly at Delphine.

Nicole looked at Delphine and raised an eyebrow and that was Delphine’s cue to ask Annie if she would be okay if she left.

“Oh, I think I hear Theo crying in the other room. Do you think mommy Cosima needs help?”

“Probably. We know she can’t handle Theo on her own sometimes. But I don’t hear a thing.” Annie said, trying to concentrate and listen to any sound coming from outside the room.

“I’m going to go check on them really quick. Will you be okay? Do you want me to stay?”

“I’ll be okay. Nicole is nice.” Said the little girl, smiling nicely at Nicole, her chubby cheeks going up as she did.

“Okay, then. I’ll be right back.” Delphine gave the girl a kiss on her forehead and nodded gently to Nicole, who did the same.

As soon as Delphine walked out the door and closed it behind her, leaving Nicole and Annie alone, the girl felt a little anxious to be alone with someone she had just met. But, somehow, in the middle of all the mixed feelings, she still felt kind of safe talking to Nicole.

 

**– ANNIE –**

I felt a cold sensation at the tip of my stomach when I saw Delphine leaving. I was scared to be there alone, but I knew I’d be fine. I turned to face Nicole again and she was smiling at me, which was nice. It made me feel less scared.

“So, talk to me! What do you like to do when you’re not at school?” Nicole said to me and she was very nice.

“I like to watch TV and play with my brother and with Cosima and Delphine. Sometimes Cosima lies down on the floor and she puts both her legs up and she puts me on her feet and makes me fly! It’s cool.”

“That is very nice! You have such cool mommies, don’t you?”

It made my heart jump a little faster than it usually does. I got a little anxious and I think she noticed it because then her happy face turned into a worried one.

“What’s happening? Is it something you want to tell me?,” she asked.

_Yes, I want to._

“Is it about your mommies?”

_Yes, it is._

I wanted to cry.

“If you want to you can tell me.” She said with a nice smile. “I won’t force you to if you’re not comfortable with it.”

“It makes me sad.” I felt the knot forming at the bottom of my throat, but I tried to hold back. “It makes me miss my mom Elena.”

“Where is she now?”

“She, uhm… She died, and she’s with my grandma now.”

I felt my face heat up, but I wasn’t crying. I knew my mom was not with me anymore and that’s why Cosima and Delphine were taking care of us now. They’re our new mommies.

“Oh, I’m sorry. How do you feel?”

“I feel fine now. Sometimes I miss her a lot, but I know I have, uhm…”

I couldn’t say it. I was scared my mom would be mad at me. _What if she gets sad that I’m calling them mommy now?,_ I thought.

“What do you have, sweetie?”

Nicole got up and sat on the couch, right next to me. I felt the cushion sinking and her hand touching my arm gently.

“Will my mom be mad at me if I call _them_ my mommies now?” I asked Nicole and I saw her eyebrows do a funny movement. Suddenly they were twitching on her face and they shrunk together.

“You mean your mom Elena?” she asked and I nodded. “Of course not! I am sure she’s very happy knowing that they’re taking really good care of you.”

I knew she was happy, but would she be mad?

“She’s not mad?” I asked again.

“I can tell you that she’s not. Do you feel like Cosima and Delphine are your mommies?”

I nodded. I do. They take care of me like mommies do. I love them like I love my mom Elena.

“One time I had a fever at night and I couldn’t sleep, so Cosima spent the night with me in my bed and she took my temperature and played with my hair until I felt asleep and my fever was gone. She gave me medicine and it tasted bad, but she told me I’d feel better and I did!”

I remembered the night as I told her about it. Delphine took Theo to their room so he wouldn’t get sick and Cosima sang to me and covered me with the fuzzy blanket she bought me and, the next morning, she let me drink chocolate milk on the couch while I watched tv.

Yes, they take care of me like my mom did. I feel like they’re my mommies.

“Yes.”

“They are you mommies, then. Your mom Elena will always be your mom, no matter what. But, now, Delphine and Cosima are too. Your mom Elena is not mad, I swear.”

If she says my mom Elena is not mad, then I believe her.

“If I call them mommy my mom Elena won’t be upset with me? Are you sure?” I asked again.

“Yes! I am sure.” She smiled nicely at me again and this time I smiled back. “You want to call them mom or mommy but you’re afraid?”

It was like she could read my mind. _Can she? Is she a fairy?_

“Yes.” I answered very quietly, but I didn’t mean to. Sometimes it just comes out like that. “I thought my mom Elena would be upset with me.”

“Do you think your mom Elena would be happy to see you sad because of this?” I shook my head no. My mom Elena hated when I was sad. “I’m sure she would like you to do whatever makes you happy. If calling them mom will make you feel better, it’s okay.”

I was happy to know that my mom Elena wasn’t mad at me. Once I almost let it slip out and I think Cosima was really happy, but then she wasn’t anymore when I didn’t say it. Delphine, too.

“My teacher gave me a homework where I had to paint the first letter of my parent’s names and I got really sad because I wanted to paint their names and my mom Elena, too. But they talked to me and I didn’t feel sad anymore so I painted their names.”

“When they talk to you, does it make you feel better sometimes?” she asked me and I nodded.

“Yes, it does. I just got sad because I wanted to paint their names at first but I forgot about my mom Elena for a second.”

“And it’s okay if you want to call them your mommies or talk about them when someone asks you about your mother. There’s nothing wrong with that, I swear. I bet they always talk to you about your mom Elena.”

“Sometimes they do. Yesterday I told them I missed her lentil soup and they made it for dinner. It was really good and it tasted just like hers!”

“See? They just want what’s best for you, just like your mom Elena would.”

“I guess so.”

“I am sure they do! Ok, let’s make a deal. Promise me that, when you feel comfortable, you will talk to them the way you want to. If you want to call them Cosima and Delphine only, or mom or mommy Cosima and mommy Delphine, you will do it and you won’t be worried about making your mom Elena upset. Do we have a deal? A friendship deal?”

I smiled at her. I was happy. I wanted to call them mommy because I really felt like they were my new mommies, my new family. But now everything is fine because Nicole told me that it’s fine and I don’t need to be worried.

I nodded my head and smiled at her and she smiled at me.

“Now that I’m your friend, can I get a hug?” she asked me and opened her arms, waiting for me. I jumped right into her embrace and she hugged me really tight, just like mommy Cosima does when she picks me up from school and says she misses me. “Oh, this is a good hug!”

“Your hug is really good, too. Uhm… Mommy Cosima also hugs me really hard when she picks me up from school and says she missed me a lot.”

She made a happy face when I finished my sentence. She was probably happy that I called Cosima “mommy”. It was part of our deal after all.

“Is that so?” she asked and I nodded. “I think she must be missing you like crazy, then! What do you say if we go find her? She can bring you next week again and we can talk about anything that you want. Do we have another deal?”

“Okay! Yes, we do. I wonder if she made Theo stop crying on her own.”

“I hope your mommy Delphine found her just in time, then!” she stood up and held out a hand for me, so I took it and stood up with her help. We walked towards the door and, when she opened it, I saw mommy Cosima and mommy Delphine talking very quietly with each other. They were whispering because Theo was sleeping in mommy Delphine’s arms.

**–  –**

When Annie walked out the door holding Nicole’s hand, Delphine felt a sudden relief run through her body. Annie liked her. Annie, probably, trusted her. It all had went well.

“Looks like she found her in time! He’s sleeping in her arms.” Nicole said behind Annie, who looked up to see Nicole’s face one last time before she ran into Cosima’s arms.

“Hi! She said Theo was crying and you needed help, so I stayed with Nicole and we had a little talk.” Annie had one hand on her waist as she spoke, like a teenager. “We’re friends now and we have a deal, right?”

“A secret deal!” Nicole said and quickly put her index finger in front of her mouth. “Shhh.”

“Shhh.” Annie repeated to Cosima and Delphine. “I can’t tell you.”

“Okay, then.” Delphine pretended to be sad, but she quickly smiled at the girl. “So, I believe you want to come next week?”

“Yes, please! I mean, if Nicole wants me to.”

“Of course I want you to! And I have a little something for you, if your mommies allow me to.”

Delphine and Cosima looked down at Annie, feeling the expectation in her eyes. They nodded lightly to Nicole.

“Okay, I’ll be right back. Stay here!” she said before she turned back and went into the room quickly and came back with one hand on her back. “One is for you,” she gave Annie two red, big, heart-shaped lollipops. “and the other one is for Theo, for when he wakes up. Can you give it to him for me?”

“Yes! Thank you, Nicole!” the girl thanked her and hugged her again, this time only reaching her legs. The woman hugged her and bent down a little, enough so she could reach her head, and placed a kiss on her forehead.

“Can I talk to you for a second, Cosima?” Nicole said as Delphine took Annie with one hand and held Theo with the other.

“We’re just going to wait for you outside, okay?” Delphine said before she left, receiving a nod in response from Cosima.

They stood in a corner between the window wall and the doorframe. Nicole waited until Delphine had left the room completely before she spoke.

“How was it?” Cosima asked, finding it hard to contain her nervousness.

“It was fine, quite good I’d say. Usually kids her age find it more difficult to open up to a stranger, but she talked to me just fine. I would really like if she kept coming until I know for sure how she is, but so far I can tell you that she’s fine.”

“I’m so happy to hear that.” Cosima said as she let out a relieved sigh. “I’m so afraid that she has to fight with her own demons alone, like my wife had to. It will probably come up in conversation sometime, but Delphine had a rough childhood too and it affects her to this day and it’s really overwhelming for me to see it and not be able to do something, you know? I hope to take care of Annie like Delphine needed to but couldn’t be taken care of.”

“I’m sure I’ll be able to help her if she needs me. I can’t have Delphine as my patient because it’d be a conflict since I’m already her daughter’s psychologist, but if you want me to I can recommend some good psychologists for her as well. It’d be really good for her to understand it all and have a technical, professional help _along_ with yours. You’re really important for them, Cosima. Both.”

“Thank you.” It was all Cosima could say. Nicole knew she wouldn’t be able to say much more, so she just smiled and rubbed her arm gently against Cosima’s arm in a comfort gesture. “Guess I’ll see you next week, then.”

“I hope so! Tell Delphine and Annie I said bye.” Nicole said as Cosima started to walk out.

“Will do.” she smiled at her before Nicole went inside again and Cosima walked out the opposite direction, towards the door.

 

_______________

  

“Why do we need to go grocery shopping? I’m pretty sure we have everything we need for the week.”

Cosima was confused when she noticed Delphine had turned a left that didn’t lead to home. When she asked her about it, she just shrugged and said they needed some beets and kale.

“Because we ran out of beets and kale. Theo and Annie need their ferritin.”

“But I bought them three days ago! How is it possible that we ran out already?”

“Cosima, we’re a family of four now. Things tend to end faster in our fridge now.”

“One of them is five and the other one is not even one yet, they don’t eat that much! What are you hiding from me?”

“Me? Hiding? Nothing!”

Delphine was trying so hard not to spill the beans, but Cosima was smart. She knew they had beet and kale and that they didn’t need to go grocery shopping for another week. Delphine also happened not to be the best liar out there, but right now the blonde was running out of excuses.

“Just tell her!” Annie shouted from the back seat.

At first Delphine wanted to reprehend the girl, but as soon as she saw Cosima’s raised eyebrows and her stubborn expression, the blonde knew she needed to. She didn’t have any more excuses and she needed to tell her sooner or later anyways.

“So, you _are_ hiding something! What is it?”

“Your mother and your father are in town. They’re coming to dinner tonight.” Delphine said, letting the defeat take over her. She looked at Cosima and she could swear her own eyes were screaming _please don’t be mad at me! It was what they asked me to do!_ at the brunette.

“Excuse me, did you just say my parents are in town?” Cosima seemed shocked. She kept blinking repeatedly, staring at the horizon, still trying to absorb what Delphine had just told her.

“Yeah! Grandma Sally and grandpa Gene are here! Aren’t you happy?” Annie asked, trying to get closer to the front seats but she kept being prevented by her seat belt.

“Yes, I am! But a little warning wouldn’t hurt, you know?” Cosima answered Annie’s question, but her stare was fixed on Delphine.

“I am sorry! Your father told me he wanted to make a surprise.”

“Of course he did.” Cosima rolled her eyes.

So, they really needed the vegetables after all.

“So what are we cooking for them? Potatoes and kale? Really? It seems like baby food.”

“Oh, no, I’m making gnocchi. The beets and the kale really are for Theo. He really likes it when I mix it with sweet potatoes.”

Delphine had just parked at the supermarket’s parking lot. Annie asked for a few sweets even before they got out of the car, so Cosima wrote it down on the list on her phone, along with the ingredients for the gnocchi and the pesto sauce.

“How much time do we have?” Cosima asked when she finally unbuckled Theo’s seat belt and took the baby in her arms. Annie was already waiting for her with Delphine, just watching the scene from a distance.

Delphine checked her phone and a very curious girl stretched her neck further up to try to see what’s on the screen.

“About three hours.”

“We better hurry, then. You have no idea how fast time goes when you’re inside that place with a baby.”

 

**___________________**

 

When the doorbell rang, Annie ran to it faster than Delphine could. The blonde saw the girl searching for the keys, that she safely guarded high enough that she couldn’t reach, so she hurried up with the pans and straightened her blouse before she approached the girl.

“I can’t find the keys.” Annie said sadly, looking for the object.

“I know, young lady. You can’t open the door without asking who it is first. Actually, you can’t ever open that door for anyone.” Delphine said as she took the keys from the hook, right above a single shelf and walked towards the door.

“But I know it’s grandma Sally and grandpa Gene. Why can’t I open the door for them?”

“Because it could be someone else and it’s dangerous.”

Delphine opened the door and saw Sally and Eugene patiently waiting at the front door, each one holding a wrapped box in their hands and a huge smile appeared when they saw the blonde and the girl.

“But, right now, it _is_ your grandparents.” Delphine said to Annie, who got shy and hid behind Delphine’s leg, just like she did on her first day at school.

Delphine invited them in and made space for them. She closed the door and tried to walk away, but the weight on her legs wouldn’t let her. The smile on Sally and Eugene’s face didn’t fade when they saw the girl had hid from them. They knew it was difficult and probably confuse for Annie, so they let her take her time.

Annie had talked to them on the phone and on Skype. She really liked them and she didn’t have a problem until this very moment. Delphine thought it would be easier for her to meet them because she’s had contact with them before, but it seemed like the girl was still anxious about meeting them in person.

Delphine tried to move, but Annie held on tighter.

“Hey, munchkin, it’s okay. See? They’re so happy to see you. Why don’t you go over there and give them a hug?”

The girl mentioned to move, but it wasn’t promising.

“Hey, Annie. It’s just me, grandma Sally. Remember when we talked on the phone and I said that when I saw you I’d give you the biggest bear hug ever?”

Sally tried to talk to the girl and it seemed to work when her cheeks muscles contracted into a light smile.

“And you said you’d tickle my ribs until I’m laughing so much my tummy is hurting.”

“Well…” Sally gave Delphine the box she had in hands and, with a sudden movement, she grabbed Annie by the waist and gave her a big tight hug, tickling gently her ribs. The girl broke in laughter.

Cosima came down the stairs to find her parents smiling and playing with Annie and she couldn’t help but open the biggest smile.

“Oh, look at you! You’re so beautiful! Can grandpa get a hug, too?”

Eugene kneeled on the floor and stared at Annie, who was now with her cheeks slightly red.

“Are you going to tickle me again?” Annie asked, still catching up on her breath.

“I guess you’ve had tickles enough for today, don’t you think?” He asked her and she giggled, nodding in response. He opened his arms and waited with a raised eyebrow. When he felt Annie’s body fitting his, he wrapped his arms tightly around the girl’s small torso. “Oh, you have the best hug ever!”

“You, too!” she answered shyly before she let him go.

It didn’t take long until Annie noticed Cosima’s presence in the room and ran to her. She had Theo in her arms, but now the baby was crawling around with Delphine in the living room.

“Look who’s here!” Annie shouted, pointing to Cosima’s parents.

“Oh, I see! And it seems like you’ve already bonded, am I right?” Annie nodded in response to Cosima. The brunette gave her parents a hug before Annie stole their attention again. “Do you want to see my room? It’s Theo’s, too. Have you seen him?”

“No, we have not. We can meet him first and then we can go up and see your room, okay?” Eugene said, looking around searching for the baby to find Delphine picking him up and giving him what seemed to be a snack.

“Okay! He’s right there, see? She’s giving him a baby cookie. It’s really soft when you put it in your mouth, but it tastes like cardboard.”

All the adults broke in laughter as Cosima walked them further into the house, reaching Delphine midway to the kitchen.

“He’s hungry and I figured we would take a while to eat, so I gave him one of those cookies.” Delphine explained to Cosima, who was wiping some drool from his chin.

“Yeah, that’s probably good. If I know the parents I have, they’ll be all over him for, at least, thirty minutes.” Cosima said as she took the baby in her arms.

“We sure will! Look at him. He’s such a beautiful baby boy, yes he is!” Sally was in love with the baby, who was now chewing on the wet cookie with his very little number of teeth. She grabbed gently his free hand and shook it playfully, making the baby stare at her and smile.

“Look at those cheeks! Oh, my. My heart can’t handle.”

“You know,” Sally started. “when you told me you were a lesbian I immediately thought I wouldn’t be a grandmother. And then you met Delphine and I thought _‘okay, there’s a small possibility that I might have grandkids someday’_ and now look at you! Two children.”

“I know, right? These kids are the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

“Hey!” Delphine shouted from the kitchen door. “I heard that.”

“Along with Delphine…” Cosima said it a little bit louder now, enough so Delphine could hear. She turned to find Delphine and the blonde blew her a kiss. “Who also happens to be a great cook and made gnocchi with pesto sauce for dinner. It’s your favorite, right, dad?”

“Oh, yes, it is. I have the best daughter-in-law in the world. Who’s hungry?”        

**_____________________**

“You have to go already?”

Eugene and Sally were standing at the door, saying their goodbyes before they went back to the hotel. It wasn’t late, but it was way past Annie’s bedtime. Theo had fallen asleep an hour ago, but the girl insisted to stay awake so she could spend more time with her grandparents, even though Delphine told her four times they were staying the whole week and she would have enough time to be with them.

“I’m afraid we do, sweetheart.” Sally said. “But we have four more days here! We’re going to have a lot of fun together, I promise.”

“Okay, then.” She said, rubbing her eyes. Delphine noticed how her eyelids were heavy and how sleepy she was.

“Goodnight, dear.” Sally gave Annie a kiss on her forehead and Eugene did the same.

“Are you sure you don’t want us to ride you back to the hotel?” Cosima asked for the eleventh time in the last fifteen minutes. Sally just rolled her eyes.

“No, dear, no need. We’re fine! You have kids to put in bed now.” Eugene said.

“Delphine can put Annie to bed and I can easily drive you back.”

A honk could be heard from the street. Eugene looked out the window and saw the blue and red cab waiting for them.

“The cab is here. Goodnight, sweetheart. We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?” Eugene said. Cosima nodded and he gave a kiss on her cheek before he and Sally left.

Cosima loved her parents and she was beyond happy that they were in the city, but she was exhausted. It had been a big day and she just wanted a shower and to have eight hours of sleep. The dishes were happily already done and there was only one cup or two out of place. _I’ll clean it tomorrow,_ Cosima thought.

“You’re tired, baby girl?” Cosima asked Annie after she locked the door and hang the keys in the hanger. Annie nodded and hooked herself even further on Delphine’s leg. The blonde kept running her hands through her hair, which was making the girl even more sleepy. “Let’s put you to bed, come on.”

They walked her up the stairs and, when Cosima turned to turn on the lights, Annie stopped and looked up.

“Can I sleep with you tonight?”

Delphine and Cosima exchanged looks and some frowns before they turned their attention back to the girl.

“Why? Is there something wrong with your room or your bed?” Delphine asked worried.

“No, I just want to sleep with you tonight.” She said. “Please?”

“I mean, why not?” Cosima said, getting a look from Delphine. “Just for tonight.” She whispered to the blonde.

“I’m going to grab her pajamas.” Delphine pointed to her bedroom and Cosima nodded before she and Annie walked into the couple’s bedroom.

After Annie brushed her teeth, she took off her clothes, folded it just like Delphine had taught her, and placed it on the chair in the corner of the room.

“Mommy Delphine is coming, okay? Just hang in there, just a little bit.” Cosima said when she saw Annie climbing up the bed just with her panties on.

A couple of seconds later Delphine walked into the room with Annie’s purple pajama in hands.

“It was hard finding it in the dark.” Delphine said before she gave it to Annie, who quickly started to get dressed.

 

Five minutes later Delphine turned off the sink’s faucet and the bathroom’s light, walking up to the bed and crawling under the blankets. Annie was already lying in the middle between Cosima’s and Delphine’s side, her eyes barely open.

“Goodnight, babe.” Delphine said and gave Cosima a quick kiss, hovering herself over Annie’s little body.

“Goodnight, love.” Cosima answered. The brunette started running her hands through Annie’s hair again, which she knew helped the girl sleep faster and better.

“Goodnight, little babe.” Delphine joked and gave a kiss on Annie’s forehead.

“Goodnight, chipmunk. Sleep with the angels.” Cosima said, placing a kiss on the top of the girl’s head.

Annie seemed to be already sleeping, so Delphine just turned off the lamp.

“Goodnight, mommy Delphine. Goodnight, mommy Cosima.” Annie murmured with her sleepy, raspy voice. “I love you.”

Cosima, who had just closed her eyes, shut them open again. She wanted so bad to see Delphine’s face right now.

Annie had called them mommy.

The moment she’s been waiting for so long had finally happened.

She turned her lamp on and saw Delphine looking at the sleeping girl in front of her, mesmerized. She had her mouth covered by one of her hands and Cosima could see the extra glow in her eyes that indicated that she was trying so hard not to cry right now.

Cosima smiled to Delphine.

“Did I hear it right?” Delphine whispered. Cosima nodded. “She called me mommy. She called you mommy.”

“She did.” Cosima whispered. The smile on her face and the joy she was feeling had taken over her.

“Let’s just get to sleep, okay?” Cosima said and Delphine nodded, still kind of paralyzed.

When the room was dark again, Delphine and Cosima reached at the same time for Annie’s head and both placed a kiss on the nearest, reachable spot for each of them.

“We love you, too.” Delphine whispered before she felt Annie curling up in their embraces as a heavy sleep took over her body.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is, along with chapter 14, my favorite chapter ever! Let me know what you think in the comments and I'll see you guys next week :)


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cosima and Delphine celebrate their sixth year together and there's some Christmas shopping as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grab your tissues, everyone, because this chapter will make you feel all sorts of things.
> 
> PS: I did proofread, but when English is not your native language things can pass by you unnoticed. So, just bear with me on this one because it was a really tough one for me to write.

**– 4 MONTHS LATER –**

 

Words weren’t enough to describe how much Delphine hated malls at Christmas time. The amount of people walking around with bags and screaming kids usually made the blonde bite her lower lip and take a lot of deep breaths in order to calm herself and not just give up on her shopping list and go straight home.

But not this year.

Cosima was pushing Theo’s stroller – that they had given up to since he was getting bigger and, consequently, heavier and Cosima’s and Delphine’s arms just couldn’t take carrying him around anymore, and it was way more comfortable for him to sleep in than their bouncy bodies when they walked around – with a very excited girl jumping around by her side pointing to every and each Christmas light hanging on the store windows. Delphine was right next to Cosima as well, on her left side while Annie was on her right, looking at each store and checking on her list what they needed to buy.

“It isn’t Christmas for another 12 days and people are already shopping? Seems like everyone in this town had the same idea as we did.” Delphine complained for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day and Cosima just exhaled forcefully and rolled her eyes. She couldn’t disagree that the place was indeed overcrowded, but complaining wouldn’t get the place any emptier.

“It’s either this or the true chaos on Christmas’ eve.” Cosima said, as they walked along the hallway to find more people coming out of the stores. “I, personally, would rather prefer this little chaos. Come on, Theo is sleeping, Annie is just jumping around, which it’s probably because of all the ice-cream she ate and I’m so sorry for that.”

“I can’t leave the kids alone with you for thirty minutes without having you feeding their body weight in candy, can I?” Delphine hooked her arm on the crook of Cosima’s, who chuckled and shook her head slowly as she murmured _mm-mm_ with a smile.

“My heart is butter when it comes to them and I am not going to apologize for it, okay?”

They only stopped walking when they lost view of Annie, who was standing in front of a bookstore. When Delphine caught sight of the girl, she poked Cosima’s ribs gently, but they didn’t walk up to her. They kept observing the girl from a safe distance while Annie was mesmerized by the kids’ books on display.

“I see you found something you like.” Cosima said as she approached the girl. Annie simply looked up and smiled at her, didn’t say a word, and then returned her attention to the bookshelf. “Which one of those?”

“The one that has two ladies, a cat, a dog and a little girl!” she pointed out to the book, pressing her fingertip on the glass. “Right there, next to the one that has a ballerina on the cover.”

“ _Heather has two mommies.”_   Delphine read the book’s title out loud and a little smile appeared. “Did you like that one?”

“Yes!” she said, still looking at the book. “She has two mommies, just like me and Theo! Can I get one?”

Annie turned to face the couple and put on her best _Shrek’s Puss in Boots_ face and clasped her hands together.

“Please! Please! I promise I won’t ask for anything more. You know how I like it when you read books to me before bed.”

“Ok, we’ll buy you the book. But the baby doll that pees is on Santa Claus. Deal?”

“Deal!”

The store wasn’t as crowded as the toys’ ones, but it still was a struggle to walk inside with a stroller. Cosima couldn’t move much, so she just waited in a corner of the store while Delphine went with Annie to grab the book. She saw from a distance when a little girl, accompanied by what seemed to be her father, walked next to Annie and Delphine, who were looking at some other books as well. Even though their voices were really quiet, she could hear the conversation they were having.

“Why don’t we have a dog? Or a cat?” Annie asked as she took the book in her hands, noticing the pets on the cover and how they didn’t have them.

“It’s because mommy Cosima is allergic.” Delphine explained.

“To both dogs and cats?” Annie asked with a little bit of disappointment.

“Unfortunately, yes. She’s allergic to any animal fur.”

“Are you allergic to something?”

“Not that I know of.” Delphine smiled as she took another book from the same shelf. “What about this one? Did you like this one as well?”

“What does it say?” Annie asked, looking curiously at the letters.

“It says _‘Mommy, Mama and Me”._  The little girl also has two mommies, just like you.”

“I like it! Can I have this one too?”

“I mean, they _are_ on sale.” Delphine said, mostly to herself. “Why not?”

Annie was cheering, holding both books in a hug, next to her chest. Before they could walk out to the line, Delphine noticed the little girl next to them.

“Do you have two moms?” she asked genuinely, without any type of malice or bad intentions. Just pure curiosity.

“Yes, I do.” Annie answered simply with a gentle smile. “She’s my mommy Delphine and she,” she pointed to Cosima in the corner, who was aware of the situation and just waved. “is my mommy Cosima. Oh, and that baby in the stroller is my brother.”

“Oh, that’s cool!” The dark-haired girl, who seemed to be the same age as Annie, raised her eyebrows in a surprised reaction and smiled nicely. “I don’t have a mom, just a dad. But he told me that that’s okay and every family is different and all that matters is that there’s love. Right, dad?” she shook her father’s arm gently, who just smiled gently at Delphine and then at Annie, before he spoke.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I hope she didn’t say anything hurtful.” He apologized and pointed out to the line. “Are you…?”

“Yes, I am.” Delphine said as she quickly got in line before the man. “And not at all, she didn’t. She’s a sweetheart. She was just telling my daughter about family and love. You’re doing a great job with her.”

“Well, I appreciate it. It’s not easy being a single dad, but she’s turning out just fine, I guess.” He smiled.

“Yes, she is.” Delphine answered before the cashier called for the next in line, just waving him goodbye before she took Annie’s hand.

As the purchase was made, Delphine saw Annie waving goodbye to the girl and her dad before they approached Cosima again.

“All done?” she asked as she put the bag on the compartment under Theo’s stroller. Annie nodded and so did Delphine.

“Now we need to go to the jewelry store because I ordered Annie a necklace and they said it’d be ready yesterday.” Delphine said as she looked at Annie and blinked, already walking down the hallways again in the direction of the jewelry store. The girl knew what it meant and it had been so hard for her to keep quiet and not spill the beans.

“Oh, no. That place is constantly overcrowded. I’m just going to wait up for you outside. If it’s almost impossible to walk into the store on normal days, imagine today with a stroller.” Cosima said as she sat in one of the benches that were spread around the mall.

“Okay, then. We’re going to be quick. I need to see if it’ll fit her because I, dangerously, ordered it without measuring her neck first. We’ll be right back, babe.” Delphine answered before she walked in with Annie.

“You didn’t tell her, did you?” Delphine whispered to Annie, who just shook her head and imitate a zipper on her mouth. “Okay, good.”

The store was indeed overcrowded and it was impossible for Cosima to walk into the place with the stroller, fortunately.

“Hey, I’m Delphine Cormier and I’m here to pick up my order.” She said when she finally was able to reach the counter.

“Of course! I’ll be right back.” The lady turned around and disappeared behind a door, leaving Delphine and Annie waiting. The blonde checked every ten seconds on Cosima just to make sure she was alright and didn’t leave.

“Don’t worry, mommy Cosima is pretty distracted by the baby. I’m watching her.” Annie said right before the young woman returned with a little package in hands.

“Here,” she handed Delphine the velvety bag. “would you like to try it on and see if it needs adjustment?”

“No, I already measured it up before I ordered it. Thank you, though.” Delphine said, taking the glowing, bright object from the bag.

“Do you think mommy is going to like it?” Delphine asked after she paid for the jewelry.

“Yes, I do! She’s going to love it so much.” She answered, not taking her hands off her own necklace. “And I love my necklace, too! But I thought you said you’d only buy me the books.”

“It’s okay, you deserve it. And also, it looks really pretty on you.” The necklace Delphine had just bought for Annie was a delicate golden one, with a giraffe, a turtle and a monkey in gold and fake diamonds hanging on it. “Now, everything needs to work out tomorrow night, okay? So, promise me you won’t tell mommy about it.”

“Okay, I promise I won’t.” She held out her pinkie to Delphine, who hooked her pinkie on Annie’s before they left the store.

* * *

The sunset looked pretty outside and the cold breeze was whistling as it hit the windows. On the couch, Cosima, Delphine, Annie and Theo were all snuggled up with each other, two fuzzy blankets thrown over their bodies as the TV light brightened lightly the room.

“Are we sure we need to go? I can make some salad and chicken breasts and we can stay comfortable here.” Cosima claimed as she snuggled further onto Delphine’s side.

“Baby, it’s our six-year anniversary. Come on, we deserve something especial tonight.” Delphine said, wrapping her arm tightly around Cosima’s neck.

“We didn’t do anything last year.”

“Actually, we did, but I can’t remind you of what it was because there are kids in the room…” Delphine whispered suggestively to Cosima, who quickly adjusted herself on the couch, trying to maintain a composure.

“What do you say we call Natasha and she stays with the kids and we celebrate just like last year? I’m up for that.”

“Cosima, don’t you think they deserve to celebrate this with us this year? Look how much our lives changed on such short amount of time. Annie was so excited for it she even picked her outfit already.”

“I’m going with the black leather pants and the purple jacket! Mommy Delphine said it’s beautiful.” Annie said, snuggled up on Delphine’s other side. “And my white boots.”

Cosima raised her eyebrows in a desperate expression, knowing that the shoes the girl picked out wouldn’t go well with the rest of the clothes. Delphine chuckled in response.

“I switched them to her black ones.”

“Oh, thank God.” She whispered to herself, feeling Delphine’s chest up and down beneath her as she giggled.

About fifty minutes later, Theo was sleeping between Delphine’s and Annie’s body, with his legs resting on his sister’s lap and his head being sustained by Delphine’s arm. Annie’s eyelids were starting to move slower as they got heavier.

“Okay, everyone. Let’s get up and get ready.” Delphine moved gently, trying not to wake Theo, but abruptly enough so Annie would wake up a bit.

“We still have two hours, come on.” Cosima complained as she sank her face further on Delphine’s neck, feeling the sleepiness reaching her as well.

“If we stay like this for five minutes more, we’ll have two sleeping kids to carry out of the house.”

Cosima quickly stood up, causing her to lose some balance from her feet.

“Everyone up! Come on, baby girl, let’s give you a shower.” She held out her hand to Annie, who hesitated for a second, pointing to Theo’s legs with her head. “It’s okay, just slid off him gently and he won’t wake up.”

Annie did as she was told and, still sleepy, walked up the stairs straight to the bathroom as Delphine turned off the tv and picked Theo up, carrying the baby to his bedroom to put him in his crib.

Delphine heard the water falling from the bathroom and smiled, feeling the freezing sensation in her stomach hitting her for the thousandth time today. It had to work. She had been planning this for four months and she was scared to death to do it. Even though she planned on something really discrete and small, it was on a public space, which increased even more her anxiety.

 _Deep breaths, Delphine. Just keep up with the deep breaths,_ she kept repeating to herself.

She walked into her empty bedroom, observing each corner of the place. Her unmade bed, with Cosima’s clothes thrown all over the place, the balled sheets and her smashed pillow, right next to Delphine’s, that was perfectly aligned and straightened up. Cosima’s nightstand with her charger and her glasses’ box on it, and the soft, velvety cloth she used to clean it before she went to bed every night. The coat rack next to the armchair didn’t have any hooks on display since they were all stuffed with Cosima’s large number of scarves. Delphine loved the way her perfume just exhaled lightly every time she passed by it. Even how Cosima left her ankle boots spread around the room, which, sometimes, drove Delphine crazy. How, every morning or so, she would wake up to the smell of fresh coffee and pancakes coming from the kitchen. And even the stain of wine on the wall behind them, that they don’t even remember how it got there and which they had to move the bed to cover it up. She loved all of that. It was theirs.

This has been their lives for the past six years and Delphine was at her happiest point. She didn’t need anything else. She didn’t want anything else.

Except for one thing.

Delphine’s thoughts were scattered when she heard the bathroom door unlock and the voices singing together that warmed her heart.

 _“…outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful…_ ” Annie and Cosima sang it loudly, but not enough to wake Theo up. Their voices started to get muffled again and Delphine knew they were walking into their room.

They started whispering as they entered the bedroom with a sleeping baby in it. Delphine walked out quietly from her own room and stood at the kids’ doorframe, watching Cosima getting Annie ready. To the blonde’s surprise, Theo had already woken up. She thanked the gods mentally because changing a sleeping baby was not something she liked to do.

“ _…and since we’ve no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!”_  

Delphine smiled as she watched the scene. Cosima and Annie singing to Frank Sinatra together and Theo happily smiling and wiggling his arms in the air as Annie put on her pants and Cosima picked the baby up, still humming the melody while Annie completed with the lyrics.

“I have a five-year old with a soul of an elderly.” Delphine said as she entered the room. “What happened to all the Disney songs? I, personally, am a huge fan of all the Little Mermaid ones.”

“I heard it in the car the other day and I loved it! Mommy Cosima told me that it was _your_ CD.” Annie said as she put her black sweater on and sat on the bed, looking for her shoes. “Where are my white boots? I did not pick these. Okay, it’s cold outside, they would probably get all dirty.” She said as she put her socks on and the boots.

“It’s all on you, babe.” Cosima said as Delphine handed her the clothes she had picked up for the baby. “Literally all of it. The song _and_ the boots.”

“Damn me.” She whispered quietly to herself. She saw Annie having trouble zipping the boots, so she sat on the bed next to her. “Let me help you with that.”

“I can’t zip it! They’re too hard.” She put her leg up on Delphine’s leg, resting her body weight on her hands behind her.

“It’s because it’s stuck on your sock. See?” Delphine pointed to the smashed cloth on the zipper. “All done. Now let me brush that giant hair of yours. You really need a haircut.”

Delphine reached for Annie’s hairbrush and turned the girl in front of her so she had her back to Delphine.

“I like my hair the way it is! It looks like Ariel’s and you just said you like Little Mermaid.” Annie crossed her arms in front of her body, stubbornly.

“Ouch, _touché.”_  Cosima mocked from the other side of the room, making Delphine roll her eyes.

“Cosima! Do not fan the fire.” Delphine reprehended. “But she does have a point.”

* * *

The place Delphine had chosen was a long ride, but the location was simply magnifique. After a 25-minute ride, the blonde parked the car in the parking lot of the French restaurant and saw Cosima mesmerized by the view. It was a huge place that looked like a Victorian castle from the 1800s, with its robust bricks that gave you the feeling that you were in an old movie or visiting a historical location, with a large amount of low lights lighting up the entrance and making beautiful glowing shadows on the little lake next to the building. The grass surrounded the whole space, giving that free feeling of wet grass when the wind blows.

“It looks like a castle from the Disney movies,” Annie said as they walked together towards the entrance. The girl kept looking around, taking in every detail of the place. She was amazed and so was Delphine.

“How did you even find this place? It’s way out of our route.” Cosima asked.

“I have my ways.” Delphine winked and opened a big smile before a young woman, standing at the entrance of the place, greeted then.

“Hello, welcome! Do you have a reservation?”

“I do, it’s under the name of Delphine Cormier.” She said, watching the well-dressed woman flipping the pages on her notepad.

“Oh, right. Table for four?” she asked, both Cosima and Delphine nodded. “Please, follow me.”

Their table was set at the window, with the most beautiful view to the lake. In common days Cosima would wear a nice suit and ankle boots with high heels, but not tonight. This time Delphine was the one in a beautiful ivory suit and Cosima was dressed in a beautiful burgundy dress.

“Would you want a high chair for the baby?” the woman asked as they got comfortable.

“That would be great, yes. Thank you.” Delphine thanked and watched the woman leave with a nice smile.

“You, mommy Cosima, look like a princess!” Annie said pointing to Cosima, who was sitting in front of her. She turned around and pointed to Delphine, who was sitting next to her on the same booth. “And you, mommy Delphine, look just like that woman from the movie.”

Delphine frowned in confusion.

“What movie?”

“The one you and mommy Cosima were watching last night before I went to bed. When I came down to wish you a good night it was on the tv.”

“Oh, _Carol._ ” Cosima said, raising her eyebrows. “You do look like Carol dressed like this, babe. The suit suits you well, if you know what I mean.” She smirked and caught a glance with her peripherical vision as the woman returned, carrying a baby chair folded in her arms. She opened it up and Cosima thanked her, putting the Theo on it.

“And you look nothing like Therese, but I like you better.” she said, winking suggestively and very discretely before she turned her attention to the waitress. “I’d like to see your menu, please.”

The woman, whose name was Juliette, handed Delphine and Cosima each a menu, and took a small notepad from her back pocket.

“Wine, babe?” Delphine asked. “I’m driving so I can’t.”

“I’ll just have a lemonade then.” Cosima answered and looked at Juliette, who was already writing down the order.

“I’ll have one as well. What about you, baby girl?” Delphine turned to face Annie, who had her arms thrown over the table and her head down on top of them.

“I want a lemonade too.”

“Are you sure? That’s very sour.” Cosima asked with a frown. Annie had never tasted lemonade before and she wasn’t a big fan of sour food of any kind, not even gummy bears. “Ok, let’s make a deal. When mommies’ come, you can try and see if you like it. If you do, we’ll order you one. If you don’t, you can order another one that you like.”

“Okay, then.” She said, rubbing Annie’s arm gently. “Well, I’ll have a _coq au vin¸_ please. It sounds good.”

“It is. I think you’ll like it. I’ll have a beef bourguignon, please.” Delphine said.

“Anything else I could get you?”

“We’re all set, thank you. Could you just leave one of the menus here, please? She’s still deciding.” Delphine said, pointing to Annie. The girl had been looking at the pictures of each food since Delphine opened hers, but she couldn’t decide because the blonde kept flipping the pages.

“Sure! Call me when you decide, then.” And with a smile she left.

Now Delphine handed Annie the menu, which was too big for her to hold on her own.

“What’s this?” Annie asked, her index finger pointing to one of the images printed on the page.

“It’s _escargot._ ” Delphine simply answered, already used to all the food found in there.

“It’s snails.” Cosima said, sticking her tongue out in a clear disgust face.

“ _Ew!_ ,” Annie shouted, her voice an octave higher. “Do people eat _that?!_ ”

“They do and it’s quite good, actually. It’s cooked. If you put some lemon on it, it doesn’t taste bad.”

“But it’s a snail! People don’t eat snails. Have you eaten it?”

Delphine chuckled at how impressed the girl was with the plate. Of course, it wasn’t the most common thing on Earth to eat cooked snails and even some French people find it weird, so it was completely understandable that a five-year-old would find it disgusting.

“I have, actually, but it’s been a long time. I was still living in France.”

“How many times did you brush your teeth after you ate it? Because I would brush my teeth a thousand times.”

“Come on! It’s not that bad. Do you want me to order you some so you can try it?”

“Never!”

They were too distracted with the escargot talk that they didn’t realize when Juliette came back with their drinks. She placed them on the table, one at a time, and handed them the straws and the sugar container.

“Ok, I’m going to add some sugar and you try it.” Cosima said, pouring almost a full teaspoon of sugar into the cup. She mixed it and handed the cup to the girl.

The face Annie made when she felt the sour liquid hitting her tongue was the cutest thing. Her frown and her nose crinkle made it clear that the girl completely didn’t approve it. She scratcher her throat a few times before she slid the cup away from her, back to Cosima.

“That is very sour. I didn’t like it.” She said, still with a crinkled nose. “Can I have some water?”

“And apple juice?” Delphine asked her and she simply nodded, relieved that she didn’t order the lemonade.

“What are you eating? Have you decided?” Cosima asked this time, looking at the menu one more time. “I don’t think you’ll like anything in here.”

“We have a kids’ menu. It’s the last page.” Juliette, who was still standing next to the table waiting for Annie’s order, said politely, trying not to get into the conversation much.

“Oh, that’s better.” Cosima said as she read the options. “We didn’t go out so you can stuff your face with mac and cheese, just like you do on a daily basis, right? Some French fries with vegetable rice, what do you say?”

“I eat vegetables every day too. If I can’t eat mac and cheese, why do I have to eat the vegetables?”

“Ouch, _touché_.” Delphine mocked this time, her revenge for earlier.

“ _Do not fan the fire,”_ Cosima imitated Delphine, raising her voice in an octave to mock her. “Okay, fine. Do you want the mac and cheese, then?”

“Nope, just the French fries. Can I have some chicken nuggets too?”

“Oh, these are not chicken nuggets. They’re fish sticks with cheese. They sound delicious too, don’t you think?”

“Yes, they do. Ok, I want the fish sticks.”

“Well, what she said. French fries, fish sticks and two apple juices, please.” Cosima said to Juliette, who patiently wrote everything down and never lost the smile on her face.

“Ok, I’ll be right back with the juices. The meals might take a little while.”

“That’s perfect, thank you.”

“What about Theo? What is he going to eat? Can he eat fish sticks?” Annie asked, reaching for a napkin to play with.

“Yes, he can! We need to tore it into small pieces for him to eat because he has only four teeth now and he can’t chew properly, but he can. You can share it with him, right?”

“Of course! And if he wants some French fries I can give him some, too!”

“Well, thank you! You’re such a great big sister, did you know that?” Delphine said.

“Thanks, I try.” She smiled. “But why did you order two apple juices? There’s only one of me.”

“Isn’t he going to drink anything?” Cosima asked this time, turning her attention to the drooling baby sitting next to her. She had given him some toys she brought from home so he wouldn’t cry and give them some peace for a little while.

“Well, we could share mine.”

“That’s really thoughtful of you, but I think he can’t drink out of a straw yet. We need to pour it into his bottle.” Delphine explained, taking his bottle from his bag to show her.

“I can teach him how to drink out of a straw!”

“I’m sure you will, when he’s ready.”

“Can you teach me how to speak French?” Annie asked after a little pause, that lasted about five seconds. “When you said escargot and beef… Beef something, it sounded pretty.”

“Oh, of course! I’ve tried teaching your mommy Cosima, but she just doesn’t want to.”

“Hey, that is a lie. I’ve tried to learn, but it’s so damn hard.” Cosima said defensively.

“It is not!” Delphine said. “Ok, I’ve taught you some things already, haven’t I?” she asked Annie this time.

“Yes, you taught me how to say ‘hi, my name is’ and ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Do you want to see, mommy?” Annie asked to Cosima, who nodded.

“Sure! Show me.”

“ _Allô, mon nom est Annie.”_ Annie said the words easily, smiling proudly at herself.

“Good job, chipmunk! That was very cool. You sounded just like your mommy.”

“No, I didn’t. Mommy does this thing with her throat where she just scratches it and I can’t do it.” She said sadly, resting her head on her arms again.

“But it’s just a matter of time! Your mommy was born there in France, so it’s easier for her. Don’t be sad, okay?” Cosima said and the girl nodded with a certain difficulty. “I really need to catch up on those French lessons now, don’t I?”

Delphine raised her eyebrows like if she said _I told you so_ and nodded.

“Oui.” Annie pointed to Cosima with her index finger, making both women laugh and, consequently, Theo laughed too.

It didn’t take much longer until their order came. Delphine felt the waitress leaving after she left their meals on the table. She was sure she had asked if they needed anything else and that Cosima had responded that they were fine, thank you very much. The blonde had her gaze fixed on the woman in front of her, smiling unconsciously and suddenly everything else in the room was faded. Even after six years together Delphine couldn’t get enough of Cosima. It felt like she had a magnet that drew the blonde to her every time she looked at her, even after all those years.

“What?” Cosima asked when Delphine’s gaze started to make the brunette’s face heat up. She took a bite of her coq au vin and stared shyly at the blonde.

“You’re beautiful,” she said, “immensely beautiful, breathtakingly stunning. I just can’t stop looking at you.”

Cosima didn’t think her cheeks could heat up more, but they did. She felt like flames were touching her bare skin and she couldn’t do anything to stop it.

“Stop it, I’m not.” She hid her face behind her hands. Seeing her reaction, Delphine tilted her head a little bit to the side, taking in every inch, that she already knew by heart, of the woman in front of her. Taking all of her features for her.

She was hers. She’s been for six years now and it was crazy for Delphine to think about the extent of that.

Sometimes Delphine thought it was just too much for her. She was too much for her. So much more than she deserved. She couldn’t believe how she got so lucky.

Cosima was everything.

She hates summer because she loves cuddling, but with the heat it gets too sweaty, which she hates. But when she’s in the pool and just enjoying the sun and the vitamin D, she’s the happiest person in the world.

She loves Chemistry and she can decipher even the craziest formulas out there, but it still impressed her how lemon juice can leave a mark on your skin if it drops on it and you go out in the sun right after, without washing it off first.

She doesn’t drink soda because, apparently, it makes you retain water due to all the sodium and there’s too much sugar in its composition, but she gives Annie candy before dinner sometimes, and she thinks Delphine doesn’t know about it, but the blonde sees the girl’s sticky, sugary fingers when she sits at the table.

She was warmth on the coldest winter’s night. She was home.

Cosima was her home.

Cosima was her everything.

“You two are just like a fairy tale!” Annie said, reaching for the bowl of French fries with her fork. “But it’s a princess and another princess. There’s no prince or a white horse, but there are two kids and a black car.”

Cosima laughed and stole two fish sticks from the plate in front of her, tearing small pieces onto another little plastic plate Juliette had brought for Theo. The boy reached for the food quickly, shoving the piece into his mouth while Cosima poured the apple juice on his bottle.

“And I think it’s the most beautiful fairy tale of them all.” Delphine said to the girl, stealing a piece of the fish stick Cosima had tore for her. “Because it’s _our_ fairy tale _,_ right?”

“Yes, it is!” Annie said with her mouth half-full, swallowing softly. She took a sip of her juice, but the straw slipped out of her mouth before she intended it to and it splattered a little bit of the liquid on her face. She wiped her face quickly with the napkin she was playing with. “Ew.”

“This is so good.” Cosima shoved another bite into her mouth, groaning quietly as the salty meat hit her tongue. She put some more on the tip of her fork and held it up near to Delphine’s mouth. “Try it. It’s just divine.”

Delphine took the bite and Cosima watched her face changing from expectation to a mix of delight, pleasure and happiness.

“That is divine, indeed. I’m impressed with the accuracy of this restaurant. I feel like I’m France again. Mine is from heaven, too. Here, try it.” She did the same with hers; tore a piece and stuck the tip of her fork into the meat and fed it to Cosima.

Delphine saw Cosima rolling her eyes, just lightly, before she opened them up again.

“Oh, my God, if I had known that French cuisine is that good I would’ve moved there years ago.”

“Then you wouldn’t meet me.” Delphine said.

“And you wouldn’t work at the police station and wouldn’t meet me.” Annie said convincingly.

“You’re both right. I wouldn’t trade this for any coq au vin or beef something in the world.”

“Beef bourguignon, baby.” Delphine corrected her.

“I don’t know how to say it. My tongue just doesn’t obey me.” Cosima pouted, which made Delphine laugh.

“Say it again, mommy?” Annie asked Delphine as she shoved another bite of fish into her mouth.

“Beef bourguignon.” She repeated slower, making sure every syllable was clear.

“ _Beef bourguignon._ ” Annie repeated after Delphine and when she saw the blonde’s eyebrow raise in a mixed reaction of pride and surprise, she smiled. “ _Beef bourguignon,_ mommy. That’s how you say it.”

“You know more French than I do! You’re such a quick learner. What do you say you teach me?” Cosima said, grabbing three French fries and tearing the small pieces for Theo.

“You already have the best teacher out there, that is mommy.”

“I do, don’t I?” Cosima answered quietly this time, looking right, deeply into Delphine’s eyes. The blonde smiled, her cheeks blushed.

“Hey, mommy?” Annie said, not directing the question to any of them.

“Yeah?” they answered in unison.

“How do I say _mommy_ in French?” she squinted her eyes, just a little bit, and switched looks between the two women.

“It’s _maman_.” Delphine answered.

“I think Theo is saying mama, but I’m not sure. It could be maman.” Annie said, pointing to the babbling baby next to them.

Delphine and Cosima both smiled widely when they saw that Theo was, indeed, saying “mama”. It wasn’t the first time, but they were blown away every time they caught him cooing the word.

“Yes, he was.” Delphine answered. She noticed he was trying to reach for her, so she put her silverware down. “ _Tu veux maman? Viens ici.”_

Delphine unbuckled the belt that was keeping him safely on the chair and picked the baby up. The blonde placed a kiss on the top of his head before she put him sitting on her lap, resting his head on her chest.

“Mommy, I’m going to call you maman.” Annie said without making eye contact, just finishing up her food.

“Sure! But why is that?” Delphine saw Cosima raising her eyebrows as well and asked, curious about what drew Annie to change it suddenly. She knew that most of the times, when the child is used to something or someone, they can’t change the way they talk to them or with them so quickly, but Delphine still wanted to hear it.

“I don’t know. I like it and you speak French.”

“But I speak English as well, baby girl.”

“I know! But when I yell ‘ _mommy!_ ’ both of you just go ‘ _yeah?_ ’” she explained it like it was no big deal. “At least now you’ll know when I’m talking to you and when I’m talking to mommy.”

“Well, okay then. If you feel comfortable with that…”

“I feel comfortable with that, thank you.” She said now with her mouth full again. “How do you say ‘thank you’ in French?”

“ _Merci._ ”

“Merci, then. Merci. Merrrci. I can’t do it.” Delphine watched Annie trying to pronounce the “r” and pouting when she couldn’t. Delphine thought it was adorable. The blonde reached for Annie’s head and placed a kiss on her forehead.

“Neither can I.” Cosima said to Annie with a fake pout that quickly turned into a smile. “High-five.”

* * *

“Dinner was amazing, babe. Thank you for tonight.” Cosima said as they walked out of the building onto the path of rocks. She had her hand resting on Delphine’s lower back as the blonde carried Theo. Annie was kicking some small rocks as she ran.

“Hey, mommy! Mommy! Can we go there? It looks pretty.” The girl yelled from a distance, pointing to the shining lake ahead. Delphine looked at Cosima, worried that something would happen.

But then she looked up at the sky. The light coming from the starry sky was beautiful and the breeze was just perfect. She nodded lightly. _Why not?_

“Okay, but don’t go near the edge!” Cosima yelled to Annie, who just nodded frantically and started to walk towards the lake. The brunette heard her responding with a muffled _okay_ as she got farther away. “It really is beautiful out here. I feel like I’m starbathing. I’m sure that’s not a word or even an expression, but you get it.”

“Yeah, I do and honestly I feel the same. The view is incredible, isn’t it?” Delphine answered as they walked slowly towards the lake. “And it’s getting a little breezy for Theo as well. I’m going to the car to bring him another jacket.”

“Oh, yes. I think it’s on the back seat. It could also be in the trunk with his stroller, I’m not sure.”

 _This is just perfect,_ Delphine thought _, Cosima’s lack of vitamin B12 is really helping me with this._

“Annie!” Delphine yelled to the girl, who quickly spun on her heels and looked in the blonde’s direction. Delphine waved at her, asking her to come back and she promptly obeyed. “Can you help me find Theo’s jacket? It’s in the car and mommy isn’t sure where she put it.”

“Sure!”

“We’ll be right back. You enjoy the view.” Delphine kissed Cosima’s cheek and handed her the baby, quickly grasping Annie’s hand.

When they were far enough from Cosima that she couldn’t hear them, Delphine stopped quickly, a few steps from the car and bent down a little to whisper something to Annie.

“Did you bring your drawing?”

Annie nodded as they continued to walk to the car. Delphine waited for an answer as she unlocked the doors, searching for Theo’s jacket. Annie opened the backseat door and went inside, searching for something.

“Yes! I hid it behind Theo’s car seat. I hope it’s not smashed.” Her voice was muffled as she went further trying to find the paper. “Found it! It’s just a little bit smashed.”

“And I found it too.” Delphine said, hiding it away between the folds of Theo’s jacket.

“Let’s go then.” Annie jumped out of the car and Delphine thought she was going to throw up.

Delphine watched Cosima, far away but not so far, from behind and she felt the butterflies fighting in her stomach once again. Her dress fell perfectly on her curves and the way she was bouncing her body, just the slightest, with Theo, and all the shadows from the little lake reflecting on her as she pointed to every and each constellation in the sky was more than she ever imagined she would have someday. She had memorized it all; from her littlest flaw to her biggest quality. She could read all of her body movements like an open book – her favorite book.

Having kids is not easy. Delphine never thought it would be. This wasn’t the life she had imagined for her at all. Living together with someone and having kids were not in her life plan, but if there’s one thing the blonde is thankful for is not following it at all. Cosima is the best thing that’s ever happened in her life and she never felt happier or more herself before than when she’s with her. Cosima makes everything easier. Her smile did things to Delphine, made her feel things she didn’t know she could. It made her want more and more.

Cosima always talked about how much she liked kids and Delphine noticed how her eyes would light up every time the couples in all of those romance movies had them, creating scenarios in her head about her own, that she wanted someday. Deep down Delphine felt a small sting of joy as well, because maybe – just maybe – she wanted them too. She wanted that life, that cliché life with Cosima.

And now, several years later, she has it. She has it all. And she felt like she was on top of the world.

That was it.

Annie knew what she needed to do. Delphine confided her and she knew the girl wouldn’t let her down. She wasn’t counting it all on her because she is just a kid, but she hoped for the best.

Delphine thought her blood pressure was dropping more and more every step she took. She was way behind the girl and that was the plan.

But it wasn’t until Annie touched Cosima’s hips, fingertips gently brushing against the cetin dress, that it really hit her.

It was happening. All or nothing. All Annie needed to do was just say the right words.

“Mommy, look what I drew to you and mommy!”

She did it.

The right words, right there, slipping out of the tip of her tongue.

Delphine studied every inch of Cosima’s face, looking for a reaction and all she saw was love.

They were nothing but love. All of them.

As Cosima studied the drawing, Delphine got closer with the biggest smile on her face. She had it placed strategically. If Cosima moved the paper down a bit, she would see it.

“Look, first you open this part and read what’s written there.” Annie instructed her to unfold the paper, the left one being the first.

The paper was folded in three equal parts. In the middle was a drawing of them – Delphine, Cosima, Annie and Theo happily holding hands in front of a small, one-windowed house with a front yard that only had grass and three sunflowers on it. Cosima smiled when she saw the crooked letters spread all over the paper.

“And now you open the last part. But read it all together out loud!” Annie demanded and Cosima obliged, even though she didn’t have a clue of what was happening there.

_“Roses are red, violets are blue. I hope, I wish, you’ll say ‘I do’”_

Cosima was paralyzed.

Her face dropped when she lowered the paper to find Delphine with a little black velvet box open in front of her with an engagement ring in it. Cosima fought so hard to keep all of her strength in her arms but everything was numb and she wasn’t sure how she was still holding Theo at that moment. She didn’t move, didn’t look at Annie, but she felt her smile on them and the tears just came, all at once.

Delphine was crying too. She knew she would, so she didn’t even dare to apply dark mascara to her makeup that day.

Cosima wasn’t saying anything. She just stood there, looking at Delphine’s face and tried to keep Theo from tearing her earrings from her ears.

“I had a whole speech prepared, but it was never good enough. I tried and I tried, I wrote and rewrote it a thousand times and it was never perfect, but you know what? Our lives are not perfect. Life isn’t always the way we plan it to be.”

Delphine tried to say it without crying, but she failed miserably. She got a little bit closer to Cosima as the brunette watched her with a huge smile on her face.

“And I could ramble for hours about how you make me happy, even more when you’re just lying on the couch, watching some sci-fi craziness on tv and arguing with its writers when somethings is way out of reality. Or even when you break something in the kitchen and you just make up weird swear words like ‘holy freaking Christmas cake’ or ‘fudge it! Fudge me!’ or ‘F…luppy duppy’ when Annie is around. I love every piece and every bit of you and you’re probably tired of hearing all of this because I tell you this on a daily basis, but I love you, Cosima Niehaus. I love you with all my heart and I just want us to be the big family I never knew I wanted until I met you.”

Delphine didn’t know how she could come up with all of those words and she cursed mentally at herself for not having any backup speech and then she cursed again for rambling too much. Cosima, on the other hand, was speechless.  

“So, will you?” Delphine almost whispered. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes!” Cosima barely managed to say before she grabbed Delphine by her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. She really didn’t care if Theo was in the middle of it or if Annie just got herself between their bodies, trying to hug both of them at once because it didn’t feel strange. It was her normal now.

“Mommy said yes! Mommy said yes!” Annie yelled, jumping between them. Cosima smiled into the kiss before they parted again.

“I did!” Cosima said, looking down at Annie. The girl was smiling like she had never smiled before.

“Baby girl, can you hold your brother for a second?” Delphine asked and the girl nodded, opening her arms. Cosima handed her the baby carefully, knowing that she could hold him, but not for long. Delphine took the ring out of the box and placed it on Cosima’s finger. The brunette kept looking at it, the shining rock on top of it reflecting the light. Delphine quickly put the box away, into her pocket, and turned to Annie again. “Ok, now give him back. Thank you, munchkin.”

Delphine took the baby and gave him a kiss. She could finally breathe.

She said yes.

Cosima took a deep breath as well.

“So, this was all planned?” Cosima asked taking a last look around. She was wiping the wet trail the tears left behind with the back of her hand. Delphine smiled and brought her thumb up to her face, touching her skin in the gentlest way, wiping them away too.

“Four months into it.” Delphine answered.

“Oh, my God! I’m the stupidest person on Earth!” Cosima said as she ran her fingers on her forehead. “You didn’t get Annie a necklace today, did you? _This_ was her necklace!” she held her hand out, showing Delphine the ring.

“Yes and no. I did get her a necklace, but when I went to the store today was to get the ring. The necklace was just a disguise, she liked it and it was on sale.”

“And this place, which I had never even heard of and how unusual it was because it’s so out of our route! Did you search this place specifically for this?”

Delphine just chuckled every time Cosima asked something. She had been planning this for four months and, sure, it wasn’t something huge, but Cosima was in constant state of amazement. At first Delphine thought it wasn’t enough. A proposal by the lake under the stars wasn’t good enough. _Cosima deserves so much more than this,_ was Delphine’s thoughts every single day, but Cosima’s eyes said otherwise. Now Delphine wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Yes, I did.” Delphine said, her cheeks slightly blushing. “I wanted a place that had an outdoor, beautiful view. And it needed to be at night, so I could do it under the light of the stars because I know how much you love them.”

Cosima smiled at Delphine in a gesture of sheer love. She knew every little thing about her and she made sure Cosima remembered that.

“And you, young lady! You wrote it all down by yourself?” Cosima asked Annie, who was still standing between them.

“Mommy wrote it down on a big piece of paper first, and then she spelled the letters for me and I wrote it. Some of the times she had to take my hand and led the way with the pencil, right mommy?” Annie explained and gestured, just like Cosima does.

“Right! But she did most of it by herself.” Delphine said proudly.

“Is there going to be a party?” Annie asked, making both of them frown. “The wedding party!”

“Oh, okay. Well, yes. Maybe.” Cosima answered, tucking a lock of hair behind Annie’s ear.

“And what about cake?”

“Sure! We can have a cake.” Delphine said.

“A chocolate cake!”

“What do you say we order a lemon one?” Cosima joked, knowing Annie’s reaction would be negative due to her past experience with the lemonade.

“No way, Jose!” Annie said with a frown, the one that made the crinkle on her nose appear again, and crossed arms in front of her chest.

“We can have two cakes, then. A lemon one for the grown-ups and a little chocolate one for you and Theo. What do you say?” Delphine suggested, seeing the frown Annie had disappear.

“Perfect!”

They stood there for a few minutes, just enjoying each other’s company, before the exhaustion started to take over Annie.

“You’re sleepy, baby girl?” Cosima asked when she saw Annie rubbing her eyes more often. “Let’s go home, babe.” She said to Delphine this time, who pointed to the sleeping baby in her arms. If it was for them, they would stay up the whole night, just enjoying and talking about their lives.

This was their lives now – having to be home early because they have kids whose bed times are at 8PM.

And they wouldn’t trade it for the world.

“Yeah, let’s go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The moment you all have been waiting for, right? I know it was a long chapter and if you're not really into it, I'm sorry; if you're the 8k+ words type of person, you're very welcome haha  
> Let me know what your thoughts are and you can find me on twitter at @tatxmasIany in case you want to say hi! I hope you enjoyed it and see you next week :)


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas time! The family is all together and there may be some emotional speeches involved before dinner time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't have time to do a proofread, so there might be some mistakes.
> 
> (Italics without quotation marks are the lyrics of the song and, under each sentence, is a different moment from their past. I thought it would look confusing if I put it all on italics, so I'd like to warn you in advance.)

“Off to the holidays already?”

Art’s voice echoed through the giant hall as Delphine and Cosima walked towards the exit of the building. They stopped turned around at the same time, not letting go of their intertwined fingers.

“Yeah, we are. Natasha texted us and said that Annie has been sitting in the front porch for 30 minutes now. Natasha told me that Annie said and I quote: _‘Mommies are taking too long, so I’ll just wait here until they arrive. They’re two hours late.’_ ” Delphine answered, giggling at her daughter’s lack of time notion. She saw Cosima smiling gently with her peripherical vision.

“Out in the cold?” he frowned.

Delphine raised an eyebrow before she let go of Cosima’s hand and grabbed Cosima’s phone from her pocket. She swiped left and right a few times before she found Natasha’s chat and opened the picture she had sent – Annie sitting on the floor, with two sweaters, socks, mittens, a bonnet and a blanket thrown over her torso, staring at the road through the door’s glass.

“See? There’s no stopping that girl. Trust me, I know Natasha tried.”

“She looks bigger, more grown up.” Art said.

“Do you think so?” Cosima said, taking her phone from her fiancée hands. A few hits and she opened a picture of Theo standing up, Delphine sitting on the floor with her legs crossed behind him and a huge smile on both of their faces. She showed it to Art, whose jaw just dropped to the floor.

“Oh, my! Does he walk already?”

“Just standing up for now.” Cosima said tilting her head a little as she put her phone away. “And what are your plans for the holidays?”

“I actually don’t have any. Just me, myself and the big guy up there. My brother is on vacation with his family.” He answered with a shrug. He didn’t seem sad or upset about the situation, in fact he didn’t express any feeling at all.

“Why don’t you come celebrate with us?” Delphine invited. Cosima nodded frantically in response to the idea.

“Yeah, Art! It’ll be fun,” the brunette said.

“Oh, no. I couldn’t. It’s a family holiday and—”

“Art, this family wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for you. You’re family, tough guy.” Delphine said with a warm smile.

“Also, Annie misses her uncle Art.” Cosima said, but he was still hesitating. She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh.

“ _Voyons,_ Art! _S’il te plait?_ ” Delphine insisted.

“Delphine, how many times do I have to tell you that I do _not_ speak French?” he reprehended. “But okay, fine. If you insist.”

“We do! It’ll be great, Artie.” Delphine said mockingly. Art tried to keep a straight face as he shut his eyes closed and took a deep breath.

“Do not call me Artie, Dolphin.” He said before his lips turned to a playful smile. Delphine took Cosima’s hands in hers again before they started walking down the front stairs.

“We’ll text you the details.”

* * *

 

“Is it all set there, babe? I’m going to pick my parents up.”

Cosima yelled from the front door, only her wallet and her phone in hand and impatient feet tapping on the floor. The cold breeze came into the house through the door gap while she waited for an answer.

“Yeah, it’s fine. Can you take Annie?” Delphine yelled from upstairs, inside the bathroom. Her muffled voice was hard to hear clearly, but Cosima had managed to understand most of it. “I need to finish bathing Theo and put the turkey in the oven.”

“I _am_ taking her! Do we need anything else?”

Cosima saw Annie appear at the top of the stairs, buttoning her jacket. But, before she could walk down the stairs, she turned around and disappeared again, causing the brunette to frown. It was difficult going out in time with kids and Annie seemed to get distracted very easily, so either Cosima or Delphine always had to keep calling her and usually more than once.

When she saw the girl running down the stairs again she felt her heart skipping a beat for a second, scared that she would trip and fall, but then she felt relieved that they wouldn’t be late for all the holiday plans. They were on a tight schedule and if it all didn’t go the way they were scheduled to, they wouldn’t be able to get it all in time.

“Mama said that we don’t need anything and that my other grandma and my other grandpa are arriving at 3pm.” The girl walked down the stairs carefully, just like her mothers had taught her to.

Since the whole French restaurant event, Annie has really been trying to call Delphine _maman_ like she had said she would and it was working out pretty great so far, but sometimes she would just call her mama or mommy, whatever came out. Delphine always felt a little bit happier every time the girl would call her _maman_ , but to hear that word and its derivations coming from her mouth so easily was heartwarming.

Annie hadn’t stopped with the psychologist appointments. In fact, she really liked it and she asked them every week if she was coming back. After one of her appointments, Nicole talked to them and said she’s made so much progress and that they have nothing to worry about because she doesn’t seem to be having any anxiety, OCD or others symptoms to mental imbalance and congratulated them for the good work they were doing with her, which made Cosima sleep better at night. Delphine had gone to a few appointments so far and it was really helping with some of the undealt business from her past, which also improved their communication as a couple. At the end, everybody won.

“So, we have about an hour to make a 40-minutes trip. Come on, little thing. We need to hurry.”

“I’m not little anymore! I can reach the keys now!”

Cosima watched as Annie stood on her tiptoes, stretching her arm as far as she could and touched, barely, the bottom tip of the keys hanging on the holder. Cosima smiled genuinely as she remembered the day Delphine had lowered the holder for the only purpose of Annie being able to reach it and actually think she grew a few inches in a period of two months. She smiled as the girl past through her straight to the car.

“Mommy?” Annie called, which Cosima answered with a murmur.

“Hm?”

“When is it going to snow?” as soon as Cosima unlocked the doors, Annie hopped onto her car seat and buckled her seatbelt herself.

“I don’t know, baby girl. It should be snowing by now already. Why do you ask?”

“It’s because I can’t remember if it snowed where I lived with my mom Elena before I came here.”

“It probably didn’t, because it depends on the sea level Cartagena was and all of this stuff, but you were too small to remember it anyways, even if it did.” Cosima answered, leaving the girl with a little feeling of disappointment. “But it’s going to snow very soon and then me and mama are going to take you and your brother to play in it, okay? I swear.”

“Mommy swear?” she asked, holding her little finger up. Cosima looked at her through the review mirror and did the same gesture.

“Mommy swear.”

The road to the airport was full of cars coming and going, which gave Cosima a little bit of anxiety. She hated when there was this much traffic. After a few minutes, Annie fell asleep on the backseat, so Cosima turned the radio on and pressed play on the disc player. Frank Sinatra’s _Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas_ started to play in a low volume and Cosima smiled. Annie loved that CD.

Cosima followed the lyrics as a movie of her life in the past year went through her head.

 

_Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your heart be light_

Their lives were great. They had a steady home, great jobs. Cosima had Delphine and, until then, it was all that mattered.

_From now on our troubles will be out of sight_

They talked about getting married. Cosima wanted to be able to call the blonde her wife after so many years. They’ve passed the girlfriend phase a long time ago. Delphine was more than just that – she was her family.

_Have yourself a merry little Christmas, make the yuletide gay_

They decided that it wasn’t a piece of paper that would decide for them what they were. They were comfortable with each other to recognize that they were each other’s rock, that they had a life together and it was something beautiful. The only thing that mattered was that they loved each other. That was enough.

_From now on our troubles will be miles away_

That wasn’t enough.

They talked about having kids. Far away into the future they talked about how their kids would run around that tiny, little house, and drive Delphine mad every time one of them broke a glass cup – and also how she would be desperate and trying to get them to the hospital for stepping on a piece of broken glass.

Cosima wanted them, but she was sure that she wouldn’t be a good mother. She felt like she didn’t have the maternal guts it needed. She was scared of holding a baby, for God’s sake, how could she take care of one?

_Here we are as in olden days_

They had a fight.

The TPD was going through a rough time with budget, so they were doing some cuts. Cosima was afraid she was going to lose her job and she had bills to pay. One day, when Delphine mentioned kids again and how she wanted them, she snapped.

“ _How are we going to take care of the kids if we’re not financially stable? What if I lose my job? We both know only yours is not enough_.” She didn’t mean to be mean, but the words just slip out of her mouth. She saw how she hurt Delphine – even if it was just a little bit – and she felt bad. She didn’t want to throw on her all of her worries and frustrations because it wasn’t her fault. “ _I’m sorry. I’m just worried, baby. That’s all._ ”

“ _If you don’t want a future with me, if you’re scared of it or not sure about it right on the first obstacle, just say the word._ ” Delphine whispered. Cosima’s heart fell at that exact moment and she wanted so bad to hug her and tell her again that she was sorry and she loved her and everything was going to be fine. But she had said it. She said what she wanted to, now she needed to take the consequences.

_Happy golden days of yore_

Two weeks later, things were still bad. They barely spoke to each other – only the bare necessities. When they were sleeping, they wouldn’t get closer anymore like they used to. One time, Cosima felt Delphine wrapping her arm around her waist, out of pure habit, and she woke up at the exact minute. It was so good to feel her touch again. But the knot on her throat formed again and she felt the blonde withdraw quickly her arm from her body, like something was burning her, and turn to face the other side. The sting on her chest was there once again and she cried herself back to sleep.

_Faithful friends who are dear to us, gather near to us once more_

Art was still making some cuts, so when he called them both on his desk, Cosima immediately knew she was going to lose her job. Delphine still had a thin stray of hope that they would get to stay there and, maybe, would get things with the woman she loved to go back to normal. She missed her _so_ much it physically hurt. She would watch Cosima sleeping until her eyelids were too heavy for her to keep them open. When Cosima spoke to her she knew the brunette was sorry for what she had said, but Delphine couldn’t seem to make up her mind around it just yet. She wanted her back to normal so bad, but she just couldn’t hope that it would all be fine in the dark. What if they lost their jobs?

“ _I want you both to become chief of the Forensics department. You’re the best people I have on forensics and I need you both here if I want this place to work out._ ” He said as soon as he sat on his chair.

“ _You’re not firing us?”_ Delphine asked quietly, just to be sure.

Maybe it wasn’t all lost.

“ _Hell, no. Not even if the chief came and ordered me to. You’re my best scientists, and, not to mix career with personal life, but my best friends too._ ”

Delphine took a deep breath, feeling the relieve running through her body. A sensation her body was desperately asking for after holding her breathe for so long. She glanced up at Cosima – the brunette was staring at her. She was smiling.

It wasn’t all lost.

_Through the years we will all be together_

It was the TPD annual party. It wasn’t something big and Delphine and Cosima always went out with Art after the precinct’s party to make their own. This time was raining cats and dogs outside, so the lights on the block were all out. People had already gone home, just Donnie and two guards searching for their keys and jackets so they could go home.

Cosima, Delphine and Art sat on the couch in the lab room with two candles lit. Art felt the vibe in the room. He knew something was off with them, he just felt it. He didn’t want to ask why because, honestly, it was none of his business, but he cared about them. Whatever they needed to talk about, what better time than to do it in the middle of the night and of a blackout, with no distractions or ways to run away?

“ _I’m going downstairs to grab some more drinks. Do you guys want some more?_ ” He stood up and took his – full – cup in his hands, walking towards the door.

“ _It’s dark, Art. Stay here, come on_.” Cosima asked. _Please, don’t leave me here alone right now, not today,_ he knew she was begging.

“ _I have a flashlight. I’ll be right back, okay? You guys stay here._ ” He left.

The dark never felt so scary before. She could see Delphine’s silhouette because one of the candles was next to her. They were sitting side by side, their legs crossed, knees barely touching each other’s. She couldn’t see her countenance perfectly, but she knew every detail of the woman in front of her by heart. It was all or nothing. Go big or go home.

She chose home.

“ _I’m sorry._ ” She whispered and she wasn’t sure if Delphine had heard her.

“ _What?”_   She had.

“ _I want it all with you. The future, the kids. I want a future by your side and I’m so sorry if I made you think otherwise.”_  Delphine knew she meant it. God, she knew she hadn’t said those things to hurt her, then why it was so hard for her to just forget it all and run to the arms of the woman she loved? “ _And I really want you to forgive me because I don’t know how to do this without you and it’s getting harder every second. I love you. Why can’t that be something good?”_

Delphine kissed her. She didn’t want to spend more time apart from her. Arguments would happen, their opinions wouldn’t always be the same on everything and they needed to work on that. They needed to learn how to communicate with each other, even if it hurt.

Cosima kissed Delphine and everything inside her hurt because she knew she had caused her pain because of her own insecurities. If she had lost her job she could find another one, it wasn’t like they were getting married and having kids at that exact moment of their lives. They had time to think about that. Right now, the only thing she had her mind at was Delphine. She loved her and that was enough. For now.

_If the fate allows_

Three months had passed. Their lives had gone back to normal. Their communication was so much better now. They had learned the way to talk to each other and how to solve things without getting the other one hurt. They bought a new TV and some new pans for the kitchen. The nice lady at the convenience store already knew them by their names and if they went there alone, she would ask where’s the other one and always tell her to send her regards.

Thursday night, rough week. Almost nine at night. They receive a new call from Art. There was a shooting and a woman died. Her name was Elena and that was pretty much everything they knew.

_So, hang a shining star upon the highest bough_

Fate.

Fate was the only thing that could describe their experience with the case and with Elena’s kids in the past week. It seemed like it was time. Annie and Theo needed a place to stay, Elena was gone and they had no parents. Cosima and Delphine had permanent jobs, a stable bank account. They had talked about that; argued about it. They were ready. Maybe they weren’t before. Maybe, just maybe, three months is enough to change someone enough.

They felt ready.

But the truth is that nothing can ever prepare you for motherhood.

But they felt it, so it was there. Those kids’ paths crossed theirs for a reason. Maybe to teach them a lesson, maybe to help them heal. It wasn’t all in vain and they were worth fighting for.

And they did fight for them. It was the best thing they had ever done.

_And have yourself a merry little Christmas now_

Cosima looked at her hand on the steering wheel and the shining stone on her finger made her smile. She realized how far they’ve come with all those memories coming back. She realized how much one person can change in a period of a year and how much a year can affect your life. If she could do anything different she wouldn’t. The brunette believed that everything in your life happens for a reason, either it’s a good or a bad thing. Sometimes you got to take risks and see where it leads you. This time, it led her to home. Her home.

And finally, that was enough.

* * *

 

“I don’t see them. Why are they taking so long to arrive?”

Annie bounced her legs up and down on the chair, impatiently waiting for the plane to arrive. The airport was crowded, people coming and going to all kinds of destinations. Families making trips together, people coming to meet their own.

Due to the weather their flight was late by twenty minutes, which wasn’t a long time, but Annie didn’t get it. Cosima held a cup of hot, steamy coffee in her hands to keep her awake long enough for her to be able to do everything she needed.

“Their flight is late, sweetheart. It’s normal, since the weather outside is not the best. They said on the news it might start to snow today, and when it snows, it’s too dangerous for the planes to go up.” Cosima explained and took in her hand the cup of hot cocoa Annie had probably already had enough of.

_Attention, passengers! The flight #413134 has landed. Be aware of your surroundings and keep your children close. We wish you all a safe flight and happy holidays!_

Annie jumped out of her chair when she heard the woman’s voice sound through the speakers.

“Is it their flight?” she asked. Cosima nodded. “Finally! Come on, mommy, let’s go!”

“We need to wait here, ok? There’s a lot of people and you can get lost if you go out there without me. They know we’re here, they’ll just come to us.”

“Are they coming? Like, really fast?”

“Yes, they are. I swear.” Cosima smiled, caressing her cheek with her thumb gently as she watched her face turn attention to a loose yawn on her sweater.

As they waited, Cosima’s phone rang on her pocket. She gave the cups to Annie, who was now properly sat and impressible quiet on the chair, and pulled the mobile out.

“Hey, baby. Is everything okay?”

“ _Yeah, everything is fine. Haven’t they arrived yet?_ ”

“ _Their plane just landed, but this place is way too crowded. Annie wanted to go out there, but I told her we need to wait here._ ”

Annie tilted her body closer to Cosima’s to try to listen to what Delphine was saying to her on the phone.

“Hi, mama! Grandma and grandpa are here already but I don’t see them. I saw a unicorn with a Christmas hat at the store!” she said near to the microphone, making Cosima smile.

Cosima moved the phone from her ear and put it on speaker. Annie took the phone from her hands, but Cosima didn’t seem to mind. The girl kept staring at it like she could see Delphine on the screen.

“ _Hi, baby girl! Oh, is that so? Did you ask your mommy to buy it for you?”_

_“_ No, I did not. She got me a hot chocolate and a pretzel.”

“ _Tell her to get you the unicorn, ok? As long as you can share it with Theo.”_

Annie widened her eyes and the excitement took over her face. She smiled at Cosima as if she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

“Really? Thank you, mama! I love you!”

“ _I love you, too, munchkin. Now where’s mommy?_ ”

“She’s here with me. I’m going to give her the phone. Bye, _maman_! Je… Je… How do you say ‘I love you’ in French? I forgot.”

“ _Je t’aime, mon bébé.”_

“Je t’aime! Oh, I can see grandma and grandpa! Bye, mama!”

Cosima looked in the other direction and saw her parents coming, pushing their bags and huge smiles on their faces appeared when they saw Annie running towards them. Cosima just let them enjoy each other before she greeted them.

“ _I see they’ve arrived._ ”

“Yeah, they just got here. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“ _I’m sure, love. Everything is ready, the baby is clean and the food is being heated up. I’m just waiting for you so I can go pick up my parents._ ”

“We’ll be home soon. Love you, baby.”

“ _Love you too._ ”

Cosima turned around just in time to be welcomed by her father’s embrace. She smiled involuntarily as she felt his perfume, that she so loved, invading her nostrils.

“Hi, dad. I missed you.”

“You saw me three months ago. We spent a year without seeing each other but you miss me when we were barely three months apart?”

“I miss you every day, you know that.” He smiled. He knew that.

Sally was too busy talking to Annie about how cool it was that they were spending more time together and how beautiful the season was. She asked her what she asked Santa Claus for and pretended to be shocked when she said she wanted more books and a doll that peed like a real baby.

“I used to have a mother, but I think I lost her.” Cosima said jokingly, taking her mother’s attention from her daughter. Without letting go of Annie, sally opened her free arm and pulled Cosima into a tight hug.

“Oh, nonsense, Cosima. Can’t a grandmother enjoy her granddaughter anymore?”

“She sure can, but she has a daughter, too, you know? And said daughter also misses her mom.”

“Don’t be jealous.” She reprehended, making Cosima laugh.

They started to walk towards the exit, through all those people. Cosima watched the scene like a narrator watches the story of a book unfold itself. She observed every detail. How her father was happy to see Annie and, even with the hernia, he made sure he bent down and gave her a piggy back ride until the convenience store. How her mother pulled Annie’s sweater’s hem down, since it rode up her waist when she hopped on her father’s back, just like she used to do with her when it was her on Annie’s place.

_It’s freezing outside, she’s going to catch a cold if her back is uncovered. It can give you pneumonia, did you know that?,_ Cosima remembered her mother’s words from years ago, which she was still repeating to this day, but this time it wasn’t about her sweater.

Cosima pushed her father’s bag and watched them walking in front of her, not so distant but not even close, and she felt a warm feeling hitting her stomach. It was beautiful.

“The unicorn! With the Christmas hat!”

Cosima was distracted from her own thoughts when she heard Annie’s high-pitched voice echoing. She had gotten off her grandfather’s back and was now jumping and pointing to the stuffed animal hanging at the entrance of the store.

“It has a rainbow tail!”

“Is that the one you want?” Cosima asked, watching the girl nod frantically. “Okay, let’s go get it.”

“No, I’ll buy it for her!” Sally said, taking a step forward.

“Mom, you don’t have to. That’s fine. Delphine told me to buy it for her.”

“I want to. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my granddaughter wants a stuffed animal and I shall buy it.” She said to Cosima before she pushed Annie’s back gently into the store.

“Now I know how mom felt when my grandma used to spoil me every commemorative date.” Cosima whispered to her father and both of them laughed. He threw an arm around her neck and pulled her closer, giving a kiss on her temple.

* * *

 

Delphine hadn’t seen her parents in over a year. Last year they hadn’t spent Christmas together and they have only talked on the phone. She missed them like crazy, but she was afraid of how they would react to meeting Annie so instantly. The girl had insisted that she wanted to come with her and pick them up and Delphine didn’t deny her request.

Their plane, unlike Cosima’s parents, was early, so they had already been waiting at the airport by the time Delphine arrived, holding Annie’s hand. That airport was much more crowded than the one Cosima was at, since it was the only one that made international connections. Delphine checked her phone one more time for the spot they were waiting for her and she quickly spotted them and a smile appeared almost instantaneously.

“ _Maman!_ ” Delphine called out, making the gray-haired woman turn around. She didn’t catch sight of them right away, so when Delphine stretched one arm up, she saw the smile on her mother’s face light up.

“ _Ma fille!_ ” She quickly stood up and ran into her encounter. Annie watched the people coming and go, feeling a little bit anxious around that many people. She held on tight on Delphine’s leg – a habit that she had formed every time she felt scared or anxious – and waited. “Oh, _mon Dieu,_ how are you?”

Delphine was so happy to hear her mother’s cracked accent when she spoke English. She had missed hearing that sound in person.

“I’m fine! How are you? Oh, my God, it’s been ages.”

“I’m fine, ma chérrie. You’re glowing. You’re so different since the last time I saw you. And who do we have here?” She bent down a little, smiling softly at Annie, who was still hiding behind Delphine’s body. “Hey, sweetheart.”

“She’s shy, but she’ll get used to it. Right, baby girl?” Delphine said as she ran her fingers through her hair – she had learned by now that the movement would help calm the girl – and smiling at the child. She smiled softly and nodded gently. “This is your grandma, Adele. And that one, sitting over there, is your grandpa. Do you know what’s his name?”

“No, you never told me.” She whispered.

“It’s Marc-Antoine. Why don’t you give them a hug? Just like you did with grandma Sally and grandpa Gene?”

“Okay.”

Adele spread her arms open wide and just took Annie’s small body into an embrace, which the girl easily felt comfortable and gave in. Delphine’s father stood up and hugged her tight, giving her a kiss on the cheek as she smiled to him and said she missed him. When Adele let go of Annie, it was Marc-Antoine’s turn to hold Annie in his arms, picking the girl up and twisting twice with her, which made the girl break into laughter.

“Where’s Theo?” Adele asked.

“He’s at home with Cosima. She’s finishing up the food.”

“I can’t wait to meet him.” Marc-Antoine said, right behind her, as they walked towards the car.

“And I can’t wait until you meet him.”

“He knows how to say _maman!_ He doesn’t know how to walk yet, but he can stand.” Annie said excitedly, Delphine’s hand interlocked in hers.

“Oh, is that so?” Adele asked, receiving a nod in response. “And I see you know some French, too!”

“Yes, mama taught me a little bit. I’m not very good, but I know how to say ‘hi, my name is Annie’ and ‘good morning’, ‘good night’, ‘please’, ‘thank you’ and ‘I love you’, but I can’t scratch my throat to say the letter _r._ ” Annie said, counting it all on her fingers, but with a little pout at the end of the sentence.

“And I already told her that it’s okay and that with practice she’ll be able to, right, _maman_?”

“Right!”

“Are you teaching French to her?” Marc-Antoine asked and when Delphine nodded, happiness was all over him.

“She likes it. She’s the one who asked me to. I mean, I talk to Theo in French sometimes because it just slips, so she asked me what it meant and now she’s doing great. When we hear songs in the car she knows how to pronounce it all, she just doesn’t know how to write or the meaning to most of the words.”

Delphine and her father put their bags in the trunk and got into the car.

“I am, but mommy not so much. Sometimes I try to speak to her in French but she just doesn’t understand me. But I like it when mama sings in French to me.” She said to Adele, who just heard every word in an amazed state.

“She has a pretty voice, doesn’t she?” Adele asked Annie, getting a reprehensive look from Delphine.

“She does! It’s like an angel! Mama, can you put that song I like again? The one you were singing to Theo?”

“Sure, baby!”

Delphine reached for the radio player, but before she could turn the volume up, Annie ruffled on her chair again.

“And after that one can you put the Christmas CD? I want to hear that song again.”

“Ok baby, now sit back on the chair. Is your seatbelt buckled?” Annie nodded.

“Which song is she talking about?” Adele asked as she buckled her seatbelt, sitting right next to Annie on the backseat.

“La Vie en Rose, Edith Piaf and Let it Snow, Frank Sinatra.” Delphine said with a proud smile. Adele’s eye widened up in surprise.

“Was she born in the sixties?” Marc-Antoine joked.

“She likes Disney, I swear.”

“I do! I love Ariel. She’s the little mermaid, did you know that? And she has long hair, just like mine. And I also love Pocahontas! And Monsters Inc. I know the movie all by heart.” Annie talked excitedly, quoting every Disney princess and every quote said by the monsters in the movie.

“I hope you’re ready, we’re in for a long ride.” Delphine said, looking at Annie speaking through the review mirror.

“I think we can handle.” Adele answered with a smile and mesmerized face by the child in front of her.

* * *

 

Louise was the last to arrive, bringing with her three different types of dessert. Natasha, Shay and Felix were sitting on the floor, trying to make the baby take his first steps. Annie was sitting on the couch, dressed in a beautiful red velvety dress with a white pantyhose and white sandals that looked like they were taken out of a doll, watching _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ while Sally and Adele discussed over Christmas meals.

“Let’s eat, everybody!” Cosima called out from the kitchen as she set the table. “Annie, baby, can you bring Theo’s water bottle, please? And you, Nat, bring the baby. I don’t trust Felix enough with him.”

“That’s rude.” Felix murmured, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I can totally hold a tiny living human without dropping it on the floor.”

“Ok, first of all, you called my son a ‘it’. And secondly, you’re wearing heels.” Cosima pointed out as they got closer to the table. “ _I_ don’t trust _myself_ with a baby in heels.”

“Fair point.”

The day had been exhausting, but Cosima and Delphine were beyond happy. Seeing their parents and siblings bonding over their own family was something they never thought they would have the pleasure to see one day. Sitting side by side, they decided that it was time. Cosima had tried to hide the ring as much as she could the whole time so they could deliver the message.

Cosima stood up and the attention was fully on her now, which made her a little nervous. She knew she didn’t have to be nervous, they were all her family, but this was huge and she needed to do this right.

“Hey, everyone, uhm… Before we start to eat and all, we’d like to say some words, if we may.” Cosima started, quickly joined by Delphine. The blonde smiled gently at her, so she took a deep breath to try to take the anxiety away. With Delphine on her side, she hid her hand on Delphine’s right under the table. “As you all know it, this year has been totally crazy for us. We’ve had our arguments and our happy moments as well, but nothing can compare to the rollercoaster that’s been these two little humans sitting right over there.” Cosima looked at Annie and Theo, sitting right next to each other and smiled when she saw the girl slightly blushing.

“And I, we, know that this is not Thanksgiving or anything but we’re so grateful.” Delphine said. “Grateful for our amazing family, and, specially, for this man right here that helped us throughout the whole process. Without him this family wouldn’t be here today. So, thank you so much, Art.” Delphine’s hand rested gently on Art’s shoulder. The man smiled shyly at the people on the table and everybody had grateful smiles on their faces as well.

“And also, we couldn’t give this whole speech without saying how much we love our kids and how everything we went through, we’re _still_ going through, is worth it. It seems like their lives crossed ours for a reason. I’m just going to tell you all this because I want you all to really feel it the way we do. A few months before this journey started, Cosima and I were discussing about our lives together. And then, in a misunderstanding, we had a fight. In five years, we had never had fought as bad as we did and it all started when we were talking about our future and kids. We spent almost two weeks without talking to each other and when we finally worked things out, three months later, these two came into our lives. We were totally fine, but the thought of kids and being with each other for the rest of our lives were still lingering by a thin line. And when we first saw Annie, all alone coming into the precinct, scared for hers and her brother’s life, we just knew it. Cosima felt it. She wouldn’t let go of them or the case even if her life depended on that.”

“We knew we had to take care of them. And we’re so happy that you let us.” Cosima said, now to Annie. “We’re so happy that we can make you breakfast every morning and take you to the park. I’m so happy I get to call you my kid and even happier when I hear you calling us mommy and mama. You and your brother made our lives better and without you, we wouldn’t be complete. We love you very much, baby girl. And no matter how old you are, you’ll always be my chipmunk.”

Cosima had to fight the giant urge to cry, but Delphine didn’t even try. When the brunette looked at her, her face was colored in red and the tears rolled down freely. She took a quickly look around to see everyone in the room tearing up. Natasha didn’t even bother to hide the sobbing, while Felix pretended he was made of steel and had no emotions whatsoever, but Cosima knew better.

But it wasn’t until Cosima looked at Annie again and saw the girl’s chin tremble, trying to hold a cry, that she just broke. Annie couldn’t hold it inside anymore and just smiled shyly, with a nervous laughter starting, while the tears rolled down her face.

“Don’t cry, baby girl.” Delphine said in a whisper as she started to move.

They both walked away from the table and walked around the table to hold the girl. Delphine reached her first and bent down just enough for her to hug her, taking her in her arms as the girl let the cry take over her. Her little arms unwrapped from Delphine’s neck when Cosima touched her hair gently, to wrap them around hers now. Delphine placed a kiss on her forehead and, almost at the exact moment, Cosima did too.

“We love you so much, okay?” Cosima whispered next to her ear. She just nodded, sniffing constantly trying to calm herself down.

Delphine looked at Natasha with Theo in her lap as the baby took a nap and smiled before she continued.

“This is our life now. We have two kids who demand all of our attention. Sometimes they cry and we just don’t know what they want or how to make them feel better, but sometimes they’re just laughing together and smiling at us, saying how much she loves us and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. But we need to work to keep giving them the best life they could have. And without Natasha we’d be screwed. It takes a village, really, and I’m so glad that _this,_ all of you, is our village. I didn’t want to ever lose that. I had the woman, the kids, the house and all that comes with the package, but there was still something missing. I wanted it all to be mine, forever. And, well…” Delphine said, grabbing Cosima’s wrist gently and holding her hand up. “She said yes.”

“NO WAY!” Louise shouted, quickly covering her mouth with her hands.

“Oh, my God, yes, finally!” Felix said, making no efforts at all to hide his excitement. “It was about time!”

“My baby girl is getting married?” Adele said, wiping the huge amount of tears that had taken over her face.”

“I get to walk you down the aisle?” Marc-Antoine asked with tears in his eyes. His happiness was radiating in the room.

“ _Bien sûr, papa_ ” Delphine answered, almost in a whisper, smiling as well.

“Oh, my baby.” Sally got up and quickly took Cosima in an embrace. “I am so happy for you two. I’m so happy to see you making your own family and… This is all so beautiful.”

“Did you all really not notice the ring on her finger? You can see it from a mile away. You tried, sis, but you suck at hiding things.” Natasha commented, still bouncing on the chair to keep the baby asleep for as long as she could.

“Oh, shut up.” Cosima said, hitting her sister’s arm.

“Natasha, stop teasing your sister. You’re not 13 anymore.” Eugene reprehended, making Natasha and Cosima roll their eyes before smiling to each other.

“I’m happy for you, Cos. I’d give you a hug, but, you know, baby duty.”

“I’m going to bring his stroller so your arms can rest a little.”

Cosima walked out of the room, leaving Delphine alone with the murmur around the wedding and the kids.

“It was just like a movie! We were in a lake and there was stars and lights! Mommy looked like a princess and mama looked like that lady from the movie.” Annie told people about the proposal happily, gesturing. “And before that she wanted me to eat snails, but I told her it was gross.”

“Not _in_ the lake, baby. On the lake, on the edge, near it.” Delphine corrected her.

“What lady?” Felix asked with a frown.

“She said I looked like Carol, from, you know, _Carol_. We were watching it in the living room and she saw her. I really didn’t, I just wore a white suit, that’s all.”

“You let her watch _Carol?!_ “ Felix asked in a surprise, making Delphine roll her eyes.

“She didn’t _watch_ it, she caught a glimpse.” Delphine corrected Felix this time.

Cosima came back into the room with Theo’s stroller, which Natasha quickly put the baby into. She got up and pulled Cosima in for a hug, leaving a kiss on her cheek.

“If that was only the engagement speech and I’m already bawling, can you imagine how’s the actual wedding going to be like?” Louise said, balling her third paper napkin after she dried her eyes.

“You’ll be fine.” Delphine said and quickly pulled her sister into a hug.

“Oh, my God, who’s going to wear a dress? Because I can totally picture the whole wedding. I can see you on a—” Louise started, but was interrupted.

“Beach!” Shay and Louise said at the same time.

“Ok, flowers. Go.”

“Purple lilies!” they both answered in unison again. “We’re totally planning this wedding together.”

“Guys, can we leave the wedding for later and just enjoy the meal before it freezes? Then it’ll take two hours to heat it all up again and we’ll all die of hunger.” Cosima said, seating herself now next to Annie as she wheeled Theo’s stroller to the space between them.

“Maman, I’m hungry!” Annie whined in a whisper to Delphine, who was sitting next to her, on her left.

“And that’s our cue. My kid is hungry and I’m feeding her. Feel free to take whatever and how much you please, but if you’ll excuse me I’m grabbing a bite of this filled turkey for her.” Delphine stood up and reached for the plates and silverware, cutting a piece of meat for Annie. The clinking sound of the dishes was filling the room, but it wasn’t annoying to the ear.

“You’re totally wearing a white suit again.” Cosima said, still on the wedding talk her sister and Delphine’s had started.

“Mommy, can you and mommy wear dresses?” Annie asked.

“Sure, baby, I can’t see why not. Why?”

“Because then you would look like the princess of our fairy tale. Our fairy tale, like we talked about at the restaurant. Remember?”

Delphine stopped serving Annie and looked at Cosima quickly and smiled. Cosima shook her head gently.

“No suit, then.” Cosima said.

“I guess not.” Delphine agreed with a smile before she returned her attention to the plate in front of her.

* * *

“Cosima, it’s late.”

“It’s not! It’s barely 9PM.”

“Actually, it’s 9:17PM.”

“Delphine. She’s never seen it. And it’s really thin right now, tomorrow it’ll be thick as hell. Please?”

“Fine. But just for a little while.”

After everybody left, they cleaned most of the dishes and some were still in the sink – the toughest ones to clean were smoothing dipped in water and soap – and everything was in order. Theo had his bottle before bed and was peacefully sleeping upstairs.

All of the curtains on the windows were closed, so the little girl hadn’t seen the snow flakes falling from the sky. She also didn’t seem to remember it was supposed to snow, so it would make the surprise even better.

“Mommy, please! I want to open it!” Annie was sitting by the Christmas tree, holding a big box Adele gave to her. There were about eight boxes and all of them were gifts for the kids from their families.

“What about Santa Claus’ presents? He won’t come until you go to sleep.” Delphine asked, seeing the defeated expression on her face. “And mommy and I want to show you something, out in the backyard.”

“What is it?” she put the box down and walked towards them. Cosima held her jacket and Delphine had her mittens in hand. Her boots were also ready to be used. “Why do I need to put on my jacket and my boots? Are we going out? But it’s past my bedtime and mama said it’s dangerous to be out after my bedtime.”

“We just want to show you something in the backyard.” Delphine explained as the couple dressed the girl.

“What about Theo?”

“He’s sleeping upstairs. We won’t take long.” Cosima said before she put her own jacket over her blouse. “Are you ready?”

The girl nodded, not knowing what to expect. What could possibly be outside this late?

“Ok, mama will put her hands over your eyes and she will lead you until we get outside. Just follow her.”

Delphine did it as Cosima told. After putting her jacket and mittens on, she covered Annie’s eyes and walked her until they were at the door. The cold breeze came into the house abruptly, but the image of the lamp posts shining and reflecting light on the little snow flakes falling from the sky was beautiful.

“Open your eyes!” Delphine said as she took her hands off of Annie’s face and saw the girl’s jaw drop. The floor was covered in a layer of snow, enough that it covered Annie’s feet.

“It’s snowing!” she said loudly, bending down and trying to make a ball. The flakes kept falling on top of her toque and on the uncovered part of her face. “It’s falling on my head!”

“It’s okay, don’t need to worry about that.” Cosima said from the door. The girl was trying to jump, but failed. She looked up and opened her mouth, sticking her tongue out and waiting until the snow flakes hit her tongue.

“It’s cold.” She said with a chuckle.

“It’s ice, so, yeah, it’s cold.” Delphine said as she got closer to her. She bent down and took a little bit of snow in her hands and made a ball. “Here, see?”

“You made a snowball! I want to make one too.”

After five failed attempts and two successful ones to make a snowball, Annie was still thrilled, playing in the snow. Delphine watched her playing with the crushed ice and Cosima started to wonder how she would feel to see the sea for the first time. If the girl was thrilled to even play in something as simple as snow, the thought of the immensity of the ocean leaving Annie speechless was something she wanted to see. She would have to talk to Delphine about that later.

“Do you know what this is reminding me of?” Annie said to Delphine, throwing her little snowball at her. “The song!”

“Which song?” Delphine asked with a frown.

“ _The weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful…”_ Cosima started to sing, walking towards her fiancée, being greeted by Annie’s arms wrapping around her waist in a tight hug.

“ _And since we’ve no place to go…”_ Annie continued, waiting for Delphine to keep singing.

“ _Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!”_ They all sang together as Annie picked snow from the floor and threw it in the air, feeling the thick flakes falling on her head.

“Merry Christmas, mommy and mama!” Annie hugged them both, her little arms not quite reaching holding both their bodies. They bent down and saw her smiling softly at them before she wrapped each arm on their necks.

“Merry Christmas, baby girl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this may not be my best piece, but I really liked this one as well. As you can see, I've updated the chapters. This story will be 24 chapters long and I'm so sad and also extremely happy to see coming to a full disclosure. Hope you enjoyed it too and let me know what your thoughts are in the comments. See you next week :)


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cosima and Delphine go on a haunt for their wedding dresses. It's Theo's first birthday party, but things don't always happen the way they should.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't proofread the chapter (again! Sorry, my bad), so errors are all on me.

After New Years, Cosima and Delphine had taken a week off work to just enjoy their kids and plan Theo’s birthday party, which was a week away. Their siblings made sure that they knew the wedding was being perfectly planned by all of them (but mostly Shay and Louise, if they were being honest) and they didn’t have to worry about anything but showing up, which was a relief for them.

The wedding.

Delphine couldn’t quite wrap her head around the idea yet. It was all on paper and it didn’t feel like they were really doing it, until Shay called and asked her to meet her downtown in twenty minutes because she had a dress fitting. She felt her stomach churn with the thought of things going too fast, but, at the same time, time seemed to be stuck.

Cosima, on the other hand, couldn’t be more excited. She often would be found on her phone, talking to Felix or Natasha about the place and the food. Annie was enjoying the situation herself and would always give Shay some tips about the flowers or the details she wanted on her dress.

Louise had, accidentally, scheduled both of their fittings at the same time. Once they arrived at the store with two kids, Louise knew she’d have to call Felix for backup.

“Don’t fear, my dears, I have arrived,” his voice echoed through the room as the heels on his boots tapped on the floor gently.

“Uncle Felix!” Annie ran into his arms, being picked up and twisted in the air.

“Hey, little monkey. Where are your moms?”

“Mommy is in that one and mama is in the other one,” she pointed with her index finger to the fitting rooms where they were trying on the outfits.

“Thank God you’re here,” Louise said, “I can’t pick dresses and hold a baby at the same time. I’m not Delphine, I don’t know how she does that every day.”

“I’ve got this, go” he said, watching Louise walking away with Theo in her arms. “Uh, the baby?”

“Oh, right.” She came back and handed Theo to him, who was now standing up on his own. He didn’t take any steps yet, but he would crawl around like a pro and hold onto bars or anything steady enough for him to put him on his feet.

As Louise disappeared on the corridor Cosima and Delphine came out of the fitting room at the same time. Both of them were dressed in beautiful white, long dresses. Delphine had chosen a strapless mermaid-styled one, while Cosima had chosen a simple cetin dress.

“You look beautiful!” Annie shouted as she saw her moms walking out of the fitting room. Delphine was mesmerized by the dress she had on. “Both of you!”

“Thank you, baby” Delphine turned around and smiled at the girl, who was excitedly bouncing on the floor playing with her brother.

“I don’t know, I feel weird.” Cosima said as she turned around twice, seeing her reflection in the mirror. “White is definitely _not_ my color. But you look so beautiful, babe.” She looked at Delphine and saw the blonde blush.

“Why don’t you like yours, mommy?” Annie asked.

“It’s not that I don’t like it, I just feel like wedding dresses are not my style.” She explained to the girl and she decided that she, definitely, didn’t like the dress she had on.

“Wear a suit, then.” The girl said firmly, nonchalantly, as if it was an easy decision.

Delphine and Cosima looked at each other with frowns and then looked down at Annie, who seemed distracted enough as she watched Theo holding onto the chair and standing up.

“Remember that you asked us if both of us could wear dresses because, then, we would look like princesses?” Delphine asked also keeping an eye on the baby, who was now grabbing tightly to Felix’s legs as the man played with him.

“I did, but you can wear a suit if you want. Mama wore it when we went to dinner and she asked you to marry her. She looked beautiful too.”

“Are you going to be upset? If I wear something else other than a dress?” Cosima asked Annie, the girl turned to face her and shook her head.

“No, I’m not. You can wear a suit too! There’s a lot of them, right here.” She said before she ran into a rack with white, gray and beige suits hanging on it. “See? What about… This one?” she pretended to think for a millisecond before she grabbed a random white suit and pulled it.

“Did you like this one?” Cosima walked towards the girl and analyzed the outfit. Even though Annie had not paid attention to any of its details or anything, it was beautiful indeed. Annie nodded and murmured a happy _mm-hm._

“It’s beautiful.” Delphine said as she approached her from behind, touching her shoulder gently.

Cosima looked down at the dress on her body.

“Frock that,” she said as she pulled the suit out of the rack and walked towards her fitting room again.

“What do you think, Felix?” Delphine said, straightening her dress for the hundredth time in the last five minutes.

“Oh, God, it’s stunning, you look so beautiful in it and I’m not even exaggerating.” He said as he stood up and picked up Theo. “What do you think? Doesn’t she look beautiful? Huh?” he said with his baby voice looking at Theo. He could see Delphine smiling in the corner.

“Oh, my God,” Delphine turned around to find Louise with her hand over her mouth and her eyes starting to water. “you look so beautiful. I think you found the one.”

“Uhm, yeah, I did six years ago and she’s right there trying on a suit.” Delphine frowned and pointed with her thumb to the fitting room Cosima was in.

Louise rolled her eyes and Felix tried not to laugh.

“Not the woman, the dress! This one looks so beautiful. I think it’s the best of them all.”

“I think so, too.” Delphine said shyly, with a giggle and red-ish cheeks.

“Has Cosima seen you in it? Because, you know, it’s really bad luck if the bride sees… the bride in the dress before the wedding.” Louise asked.

“In conventional ones, yes, but nothing in our life is conventional. We’re two women, who adopted kids even before we got married. So, I think we’re fine.”

“You do have a point,” Felix said as he looked at Delphine’s image on the mirror. “You’re taking this one.”

“I am.”

“I’m not asking, I’m just letting you know. You’re taking this one either you want it or not.” Felix said with a half-smile.

“Shut up.”

“Uncle Felix is right, mama,” Annie said, “you look like a princess in this dress. I _looove_ it!”

“Did you?” Delphine asked and got a nod in response from the girl. “Well, then I’m taking it.” Annie cheered up loudly in response and hugged Delphine.

“How come a five-year-old has the final say on your wedding dress in a blink of an eye but the opinion of two adults doesn’t count?” Felix asked nonchalantly.

“She’s my kid.”

“And I’m your sister!” Louise said.

“And I’m your soon-to-be brother-in-law!”

“She still wins over both of you, guys. Sorry, not sorry.”

Louise and Felix both pretended to be hurt, but the smiles on their faces showed otherwise. 

“Ok, guys, I don’t want to brag but I look so fucking hot in this outfit.” Cosima said as she walked out of the fitting room.

The suit fit her like it was molded off of her body. Delphine’s jaw dropped when she saw her fiancée and walked towards her.

“We don’t use the word hot as an adjective to people in front of the kids, remember? Especially when it comes with the F word.” Delphine firstly reprehended, but then her hands fell onto Cosima’s arms and slid them down until they reached her hands. “But you do look fudging good in it.”

“You look beautiful, mommy! I liked it.” Annie ran into them, followed by Felix and Louise.

“Suits are totally your thing, Cos.” Felix said.

“I agree.” Louise said. She reached for her purse and took out a notepad and a pen and scratched something on it. “Cosima’s dress, out. Hello, _Cosima’s suit.”_

“Don’t you want to try on others? It’s the first you put on.” Delphine suggested, pointing to the rack of suits.

“I don’t know. Something about this one…” Cosima said looking at herself in the mirror once again. “What did you think, chipmunk?”

“I love it!”

“And what about you, big boy?” Cosima turned to Felix and mentioned to grab Theo, who giggled and threw himself on her arms. “Sounds like a yes, huh?”

Cosima saw Delphine’s reflection on the mirror, right behind her. Her smile as she watched Cosima and Theo was huge, while Annie made silly faces in front of the mirror. She could see it – both of them walking down the aisle, or just Delphine, at their wedding. She could see Annie’s lilac dress matching perfectly with Theo’s gray suit as they walked towards the altar and by they she meant Annie, with the baby being carried by Felix next to her.

“I’m taking it.” Cosima stated, smiling at Delphine and giving her a kiss.

“And now Theo’s opinion matters more than ours and he doesn’t speak.” Louise said with a shrug.

“We can’t compete with them, can we?”

Louise watched from behind while Delphine braided Annie’s hair and pretended they were at the ceremony, while Cosima danced to no music with Theo in her arms. Nothing could ever compete with that.

* * *

 

The smell coming from the kitchen of fresh baked cake was distracting Cosima in giant levels. The papers she had brought home from work to analyze were quickly set aside before she got up and ran down the stairs to find Annie wearing an apron that was covered in a sticky dough and her face was all white, covered in flour.

“What’s happening in this kitchen?” Cosima asked as she walked around the counter to check on the mess they were doing.

“We’re making Theo’s birthday cake!” Annie said, filled with excitement, as she threw some flour up in the air. Some of it sprinkled on Delphine’s arm.

“It’s 10AM,” Cosima said after she quickly glanced up at the clock. “I thought we agreed to buy a cake from that bakery downtown.”

“Yeah, but then Annie asked if I could help her make him a small cake herself and I thought we could make it instead of buying one.” Delphine said as she added some chocolate chips into the dough. “Also, we’re on a short budget because of the wedding.”

“Cookie cake?” Cosima frowned.

“Kind of. It tastes good, I swear. When I went to pick her up last week from Nicole’s, we stopped by the bakery and we had this vanilla cake with chocolate chips with white chocolate icing and it was so tasty.” Delphine hummed in pleasure as she remembered the flavor. She took two white chocolate bars from under the counter and set it on the table. “We’re making the icing right after we put this in the oven. Do you want to help?”

“Why not?” Cosima said. “But only if I can scrap the bowl to get the rest of the icing.”

“Hey! No! I told mama I wanted to do it!” Annie protested, crossing her arms in front of her chest and putting on a fake pout.

“Ok, ok, you can do it, then…” Cosima said, before she carefully took the chocolate bars from the counter. “But you need to get it from me first!” Cosima ran away from Annie, running around the counter as the little girl ran after her.

Delphine stood in the middle of the kitchen, watching them running around the kitchen as Annie’s laughter filled the room. She couldn’t help the smile growing on the corner of her mouth, but by then she was worried one of them would slip on the layer of flour on the floor.

“Enough, you two!” Delphine yelled, but the girls kept running around. “Cosima, you’re going to—”

Delphine closed her eyes and sighed deeply as she felt and heard the loud thud when Cosima’s body hit the wooden floor.

“Fall.” Delphine finished the sentence, noticing the brunette was laughing as she tried to dust off the flour from her clothes.

“Mommy, are you okay?!” Annie stopped running and knelt on the floor next to Cosima.

“I’m fine, chipmunk. The floor was a little bit slippery, that’s all. I should’ve listened to your mama.”

“She never does.” Delphine reprehended, holding out a hand to Cosima. She didn’t take it and pushed herself up and quickly stood up, pulling Delphine in for a kiss.

“I guess we need to clean this mess, right, mama? I don’t want mommy to break any ribs. Or a leg. Or both.”

“We do, but first we need to bake this thing, otherwise there will be no cake ready in time for the party.”

“Okay, but can I put it in the tray?”

“Of course.”

“But I do need a little help. I’m short.” Annie looked up at them, stretching her arms up. Cosima chuckled before she picked the girl up by her hip.

“Don’t make a mess,” Delphine asked.

“Don’t fall with me, mommy.” Annie said, making Cosima roll her eyes and laugh.

“Great, now my own kid is mocking me.”

Annie gracefully poured the thick dough into the metal tray with a little help from Delphine. After the blonde put it into the oven, the girl started unwrapping the chocolate and put it into another bowl.

“Who’s coming to Theo’s party?” Annie asked, hoping on the chair Cosima brought for her so she could be leveled with the counter.

“Well, all of your aunts and your Uncle Felix and Art is bringing his niece.”

“So, no babies? Just Theo?”

“Yes, he hasn’t started school yet, so he has no baby friends. And soon he’ll be going to a daycare and I’m sure he’ll make a lot of friends there.” Cosima answered, taking the cream cheese from the fridge and setting it on the table, next to the bowl. “Now we need to melt this chocolate and this is a job for a grown up, okay?”

“Okay.” Annie said and hopped off the chair, cleaning her hands on her apron.

The beeps from the microwave were the only thing audible in the house, along with the happy chanting coming from a random cartoon Delphine had put on the tv for Annie. The girl walked towards the couch and made herself comfortable in Delphine’s arms, resting her head on the blonde’s chest. Cosima watched the scene with a smile on her face.

After the icing was cooling down in the fridge and the cakes were already out of the oven and also cooling down on the counter, Cosima joined them on the couch and the feeling of having her daughter cuddled between hers and her fiancée’s body was the best of all.

It was almost eleven when a weird feeling hit Cosima. Theo’s nap was taking longer than it usually did. By this time, he would already be up. Since he hadn’t slept well last night and was a little bit cranky when he woke up earlier that morning, Cosima scattered the though and figure he’d still be a little tired.

The house was quiet, but a quiet cry caught Annie’s attention.

“I think Theo is up. Can I go check on him, mama?”

“Sure, baby. Just be careful, ok? Sometimes it seems like he’s crying but he’s not really awake yet, so we need to be really quiet.”

Annie didn’t even wait for Delphine to finish her sentence and walked towards the stairs.

“Yeah, I know, I’ll be careful,” she answered in a whisper.

Annie ran up the stairs and, on her tip toes, walked into her bedroom. The curtains were closed, but some rays of light still lightened the room. When she approached the crib, she felt a weird sensation take over her when she saw her baby brother covered in sweat, with his cheeks redder than normal. For what it seemed, he was still sleeping, so she carefully placed her hand on his cheek and felt it burning. It wasn’t a heat from a hot day of summer, she knew it wasn’t.

“Theo?” she grabbed his little hand and tried to wake the baby up, but he didn’t even flinch. She tried shaking his crib a little bit, but unsuccessful.

She ran downstairs again, trying not to trip on the steps.

“Mama, mommy, there’s something wrong with Theo. He’s hot and he’s not waking up.”

* * *

Delphine hated hospitals. Not because there were sick people all around, she really didn’t mind that. That worrying feeling that ran around with families waiting for news on their sick kids or sick parents and the thought that, maybe, just maybe, they wouldn’t come back from the surgery table made the blonde nauseous.

Cosima walked into the ER with Theo in her arms, still sleeping. His breathing was normal, but his temperature seemed to increase every minute. Annie was scared that something bad had happened to her little brother.

“Baby girl, wait here, ok?” Delphine sat Annie down on one of the free chairs. Annie nodded in response, watching Delphine walk away towards Cosima and Theo.

The blonde saw the receptionist typing something on the computer with Theo’s birth certificate in hands. She entered the data and the waiting was killing her. Sure, it was a matter of seconds, but when you have a sick child every second feels like an hour.

“Ok, his medical record is set. I’ll ask you to follow me so we can put him in a bed and wait for the doctor.”

“Wait here with Annie, I’ll go with him.” Cosima said, watching the nurse prepping a neonatal bed.

“No way, I’m coming too.” Delphine said stubbornly. “I’m just going to get Annie. Look at her, she’s also worried.” They both looked at Annie and saw her knit eyebrows and the worry was clear in her eyes. Cosima sighed and agreed with a head nod.

Before Delphine could reach the girl, she had already hopped off the chair and walked to Delphine’s encounter.

“Mama,” she said, her voice was low and Delphine felt she had a knot in her throat.

“I know, baby,” she murmured when she took her by the hand. “He’ll be fine. We need to wait for the doctor with him on that bed, right there, see?”

“And he’s going to be better?” she said as they followed Cosima through the hall.

“Yes, he is. The doctors and the nurses will take care of him.”

“Okay.”

Delphine entered the room and found Cosima lying Theo down on the bed, too big for him. He was still very weak, but a current of relief ran through Delphine and Cosima’s bodies when he started cooing and slowly opening his eyes.

“Hi, big boy,” Delphine reached for his cheek and felt the skin burning against her own. “How are you feeling? Oh, mon Dieu, your cheek is burning hot.”

Cosima exchanged concerned looks with Delphine and touched his cheek gently, feeling the heat on her fingers.

“The fever is getting worse,” she said, “if it goes over 104ºF his membranes will start to get more fluid and then they’ll melt and he is _really_ hot and, oh, my God—”

“Cosima, stop. You’re freaking me out. The doctor is coming and he’ll give him some medicine. He’ll be fine. At least he’s awake.”

In the bed, the baby started to move around and feel really uncomfortable. He didn’t stop crying until Delphine picked him up. Annie was standing next to Cosima, the woman holding her close. The blonde was singing some random lullabies to Theo, but nothing seemed to work.

A tall, gray-haired man walked through the door dressed in a white coat, holding a chart in his hands.

“Good evening, ladies. I’m Dr. Vorden, how can I be of your service?”

“He was sleeping when our daughter went to check up on him and she told us that he wasn’t waking up and he was really hot, so when we picked him up he was burning hot and he was very weak. That’s when we rushed here with him.” Delphine explained as she rubbed her finger gently on his forehead.

“Has he eaten properly for the last few days?” the doctor asked, taking his stethoscope from his neck.

Theo had calmed down by now, so it hurt Delphine to put him back on the bed. When Theo felt the absence of the blonde’s body, he felt a slight discomfort, but as soon as both Cosima and Delphine held his hand, he calmed down again.

“No, he’s eating just fine. Yesterday, though, he didn’t finish any of his meals and he was crying a little bit after he had his bottle before bed. He usually does that, like he’s complaining that he doesn’t want to sleep, but it’s just for a second and then he stops and falls asleep.” Cosima explained.

“And this morning he didn’t want his bottle,” Delphine added. “Instead he just fell asleep and slept longer than he normally does. He hasn’t eaten anything since.”

The examination went pretty fast and by the end of two minutes he seemed to already have a diagnosis in hand. The thermometer he had slid on the baby’s forehead had already measured his temperature as well. Theo was still hot and it was starting to make Cosima uncomfortable.

“It seems like it’s just a viral disease. We’ll put an IV on him and he’ll need to stay here for a couple of hours because of his temperature, so we can monitor and see if it’ll increase any more. We’ll also medicate him right away because he has a 100.9ºF fever and it’s too high for a young child like him. But, don’t worry because we’ve got it all under control.”

“An IV?!” Delphine asked, letting the fear take over her. Why did he need an IV? Wasn’t that only on extreme cases or bad, really bad, ones?

“Yes, ma’am. He’s really weak and you mentioned he didn’t eat his morning bottle. His stomach is probably feeling sick and he won’t be able to ingest anything without throwing up, so we’ll give him fluids and the medication straight in his veins because we need to lower that temperature as fast as we can.”

“Is there anything we can do?” Cosima asked, feeling bad for not seeing the signals before.

“At this very moment, I’m afraid not. But if he reacts well to the fluids and the medication, he’ll be feeling better and you can go home in a couple of hours. Just give him a lot of water and keep an eye on his temperature.”

“Is my brother going to be fine?” Annie spoke out loud, her voice still very soft and concerned. Dr. Vorden smiled gently at her and caressed her hair.

“He is, I can guarantee you that. I’m going to need you to be a good big sister and help your moms— They’re your moms, right?”

“Yes, they are.” She answered with a smile.

“Well, I’m going to need you to be a good big sister and help them take care of him, because right now he’s very fragile, okay?”

“Okay.”

After some orientations from the doctor, two nurses and an IV tied to Theo’s arms, they were alone in the room. Delphine kept mingling around while Cosima sat on the chair next to the bed and held Theo’s hands the whole time. He had been awake for a while now and he seemed to be getting better, but his temperature was still high.

“Mama, can I sit next to him on the bed?” Annie asked from Cosima’s lap, catching both Cosima and Delphine’s attention.

“I think it’s better if you stay with mommy, baby girl,” Delphine said, walking towards them and kneeling on the floor. “What Theo has is called a viral disease. Do you know what a virus is?” Annie shook her head. “A virus is a very, very small bug that travels in the air and, when you breathe, it gets inside your body. Now, you have in your body what we call white blood cells. They’re like an army and they take care of everything bad that’s coming into your body. And do you know what happens when a strong virus gets inside? It makes the army weaker, so it can go through and make you feel sick. Since Theo is a baby, his army is even weaker than yours, because you’re already a big girl, right? So, if you sit next to him, you can get sick as well.”

“But you and mommy are holding him the whole time and you’re not sick.” She pouted and crossed her arms.

“But we’re adults, our army is stronger than yours. And if we don’t, who’s going to take care of him?” Delphine caressed her knee gently, trying to make the girl feel better. “What do you think?” she asked Cosima this time.

“Let her, just for a little bit.” Cosima said with a tilt of the head and a gentle smile.

“Are you sure?” Delphine looked at her with a frown like if she had said the craziest thing.

“How bad could it be?”

“Hop on there, baby girl. But just for five minutes, okay? We don’t want you to feel sick too.”

“Deal.” She said as she climbed on the bed, being as careful as she could be to not disturb the baby. She sat at the bottom of the bed, an arm length from him. She caressed his leg gently before she bent down and lied down next to him. “You’re going to be fine, okay? I’m here. I’m sorry you’re sick on your first birthday, but I’ll ask mama and mommy to save some cake for you for when you get better.”

Cosima looked down at Delphine, who was still kneeling on the floor, and tapped on her thigh. Delphine stood up and sat on Cosima’s lap, wrapping her arm around her neck and giving her a kiss on her temple. Delphine didn’t express any type of emotion besides worry. Cosima was feeling a little bit more relieved, but the sadness in the blonde’s eyes were crystal clear.

“He’ll be fine, babe.” Cosima whispered, the vibration of her vocal chords reaching Delphine’s skin.

“I know,” she said, “I just feel powerless seeing him like that, attached to a catheter. And Annie is feeling so upset seeing her brother like that. It just hurts.”

“I was so scared when I touched his cheek and I felt how heated up it was.” Cosima said, zoning into her own mind. “And when I picked him up and he didn’t even move I thought something really bad had happened, which made me question everything about me as a parent. I was like ‘ _did I do something wrong? Maybe it’s the rug’_ and a lot of what ifs came into my mind.”

“Kids get sick, it’s normal and I know it is and I’ve seen kids worse than him, chicken pox and all, but when it’s _your_ kid…”

“It’s even more terrifying.” Cosima completed, making them both sigh.

“Parenthood is not always easy, baby. We’re going to make mistakes and we’ll know when we do, so we’ll fix them. That’s part of the process.” Delphine said quietly, looking at the kids lying on the hospital bed. “But we’re doing our best. They’re happy and I’m sure Elena would be happy to know that they’re safe and loved. You’re a great mom and I’m so proud of us.” She kissed Cosima’s cheek and rubbed her thumb gently on it, making the brunette smile.

They stood in silence for a couple of minutes before Delphine broke it.

“And Annie…”

“She’s a complete angel. I don’t know how a five-year-old can be that mature and that comprehensive about everything. I mean, obviously, she has her moments when she throws tantrums and all, but it’s so insignificant compared to all of the other good things she does.”

“When you fell earlier today she was so worried that you were hurt.” Delphine said with an involuntarily smile as she remembered the scene in the kitchen. “Even I wasn’t that worried.”

“It’s because you hate me.” Cosima put on a fake pout, making Delphine chuckle and pull her in for a quick kiss.

“Shut up.”

“Make me.”

“Kid in the room.” Annie song sang without taking her eyes off her brother. Cosima and Delphine looked at her and, when she felt their gaze, she looked up too and giggled.

Three hours had passed and Theo’s fever was finally gone. He was feeling a lot better, sitting up on the bed and even trying to crawl on it. He still had some fluids on his IV to be finished until he was released to go home.

Cosima took her phone from her pocket and texted all of her family warning about the birthday party, that was now cancelled. They were all worried about the baby, but she explained that he’d be better in a couple of days and that they had no reason to be worried because everything was under control now. Delphine had Theo in her arms while she spoke to Dr. Vorden about some home cares and how they should make his food for the next couple of days. They were finally going home and everything was just fine.

* * *

 

When they got home they were all exhausted. Any of them had eaten properly the entire day and Annie was complaining she was hungry for twenty minutes now. With Theo in her arms, Delphine dropped his bag on the couch and sat with him. His arm was a little sore where the IV was connected, so he wasn’t in the best mood.

“I’m going to make us some lunch, okay? What do you want?” Cosima asked Delphine before she locked the door behind her.

“Anything salty.”

“Ok, salt. What about you, baby girl?”

“I don’t know. Chicken nuggets?”

“With potatoes, carrots and broccoli, then.”

“Fine. I’m going to pick the beets out anyway.” She said recklessly as she sat on the couch next to Delphine.

“No, you’re not, young lady. You need the vitamins. And it’s really good, it has a sweet-y taste.” Delphine reprehended, giving Theo his pacifier to chew on.

Annie huffed and rolled her eyes. By the sound of the pans hitting the stove and the fridge door opening, Delphine assumed Cosima had already started, so she got up to help her.

“Can you keep an eye on him, munchkin? Just be careful with his arm.”

“You got it, dude!” she answered with her thumb up, returning her attention to the book she had left on the couch before they left earlier that day.

“We’re watching too much Full House.” Delphine said as she hugged Cosima from behind and rested her chin on the crook of her neck.

“She likes it, we like it, it’s a family friendly program, what’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing! It’s a good show.”

Delphine glanced at the couch and saw Annie taking Theo carefully in her arms and putting the baby on the floor. He quickly stood up on his own and the blonde watched how Annie was kneeling close to him, with her hands ready in case he fell. He seemed to be a little bit better, laughing around and even trying to rip Annie’s book.

“No, no. Not this one.” She took it away from him gracefully, giving him another toy instead. “This one you can throw and do whatever you want.”

She looked at Cosima and Delphine and stretched her neck, trying to see them better.

“Mommy, mama, isn’t he thirsty? The doctor said we need to give him a lot of water. No juice, though, otherwise he’ll puke.”

“I’ll bring his water bottle in just a second, okay?”

“Okay, okay, fine!”

“I love seeing them like this. Playing together and all. My heart can’t handle.” Cosima said quietly as the frying sounds came from the pan.

“Me too. It’s so heartwarming.” Delphine agreed. “I’m going to fill up that bottle, I’ll be right back.”

“And I’m going to make Theo some soup.”

As Delphine filled the bottle with water and Cosima chopped some vegetables for the soup, Annie watched Theo standing up but with no hands this time. She felt her heart racing and she was scared that he would fall.

“Mama! Theo is not holding on!”

“He what?” Delphine hurried up and walked into the room, seeing Theo standing up by himself at a far distance from the couch. He had no help, no bars, nothing he was holding onto. “Oh, my God. Cosima, come here.”

“What? What’s happening? Oh, my God.” Cosima ran into Delphine’s encounter and her jaw dropped when she saw the baby smiling and chewing on his pacifier. “Is he going to walk?”

“Come here, Theo! Come on, walk to me! I’ll catch you if you fall.” Annie, who was now sitting on the floor next to Theo, opened her arms and smiled at him, trying to make him walk. He giggled, but only bounced his body and sat back on the floor.

But he got up again, with no help and no bar or steady support. But this time, he took two steps, filling the room with his laughter, that soon turned into hiccups. Two whole steps until he fell onto his sister’s arms.

“Mommy! Mama! Did you see that?” Annie held him, extremely excited, and kissed his forehead. He pushed her away and got up again.

Delphine walked towards them and sat behind the baby. Cosima ran into the kitchen and turned the stove off, quickly returning to the living room.

“Come on, little boy, walk to _maman!_ Come on!” Delphine cheered, trying to make him take another step.

And he did.

With very crooked steps, he gave another two steps and fell into Delphine’s arms, giggling like it was the funniest thing on Earth. Cosima sat on the couch next to them and watched the scene.

“Walk to mommy, go!” Delphine put him on his feet again and he gave another step before he tripped and fell right into Cosima’s hands.

“Theo is walking! He’s walking, mama!” Annie got up and sat on Delphine’s lap, hugging her tight.

“He is! And his first step was with you! He felt safe enough that you’d catch him. You’re an amazing big sister.”

“Now we need to rearrange the entire house again and make it baby proof.” Cosima said adjusting Theo’s shirt and putting him back on the floor.

“Starting with this center table.” Delphine said, pushing the wooden furniture away. “It has corners. Pointy corners.”

“Can he walk up the stairs yet?!” Annie asked, making Delphine’s eyes widen in surprise.

“Not yet! He just learned how to take small steps. We need to be more careful with him now.”

“I can do that!”

“I know you can! That’s why you’re his Super Big Sister! Your t-shirt, remember?” Delphine said, referring to a t-shirt Natasha had given her. It had a cape, like Supergirl’s outfit, and the “S” above the writing. It was Annie’s favorite t-shirt.

“Here, try offering him the water and see if he’ll walk up to you again.” Cosima handed Annie the bottle. The girl took it and sat back where she had been sitting before.

“Theo, come here! Here’s your water.” She said, jiggling the bottle in front of him. Cosima let go of his body and he, once again, walked to her and fell smoothly into her lap.

He sat on the floor and took the bottle from Annie’s hand, chugging thirstily on it.

“At least he’s drinking water and he’s not feeling sick. We need to measure his temperature again in one hour.”

“So, I’m going to finish his soup so we can eat something, otherwise we’ll pass out from hunger.”

Almost thirty minutes later they were all sitting at the table. Theo didn’t throw up and his fever didn’t come back, but he was feeling a little bit down still.

“Mama, if Theo is walking, is he going to walk down the aisle with me at yours and mommy’s wedding?” Annie asked, completely out of nowhere. The thought hadn’t even crossed Delphine’s mind because she didn’t think he’d be taking steps anytime soon. She wasn’t completed opposed to the idea. In fact, now that the girl had mentioned it, she would love if his legs were strong enough for that until then.

“I don’t know, baby girl, we’ll have to wait and see. There’s a lot of time left until the wedding.”

“When is it going to be?”

“Four months from now. We’re in January, so…”

“January, February, March, April, May… May! My birthday is in June!”

“Yes, it is. Are you excited?” Cosima asked, feeding Theo another spoon of soup. “I am! I can’t wait to see you and mama and the flowers! Is there going to be corn dogs?”

“Corn dogs? I don’t think so, honey. Your aunt Louise is the one taking care of the food. And, you know, all of the rest.”

“And don’t forget auntie Shay!”

“Oh yes, her, too.”

“I told Nicole about it.” She said with her mouth full.

“About what? The wedding?” Delphine frowned.

“Yes. I told her I was excited and she asked me if I was happy with the wedding and I said I was. But then we changed the subject to my school and that was it.”

“We’re happy to know that, baby girl.” Delphine reached closer and pulled the girl, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“Get down.” Annie said, making Delphine bend down a little. The girl pulled her in by her neck and gave her a kiss on the cheek as well. Cosima’s heart suddenly filled with love.

Delphine saw Annie hopping off the chair carefully and walking around the table.

She approached Cosima and hugged her tight, pulling her by her neck and placing a kiss on her cheek as well.

“Mommy deserves one too!”

“Fair enough.” Delphine answered with a smile.

“I love you mommy,” she ran back to her chair and hugged Delphine this time. “and I love you, mama.”

“Ugh, kid, you’re killing me.” Delphine said as she hugged the girl back. “Now finish your food. And _don’t_ pick the beets out.”

“Bleh. Fine.”

 

“Can I have a piece of cake?” she asked right after she finished her plate.

“You’re eating Theo’s birthday cake without him?”

“I’m sure he won’t mind.” She smiled when she saw Cosima getting up and picking a knife.

“Ok, but just a small piece.”

“It’s enough. But get more of the chocolate icing.” Annie said, watching the woman putting the cake into a small bowl and smiled when she scrapped the edges of the cake for more white chocolate icing. Cosima handed the bowl to her. “Thanks.”

Annie walked towards the table again and got a little bit of icing with her finger and offered it to Theo, behind her mothers’ back, who took her finger in his mouth.

“Happy first birthday, I love you.” She whispered to him and gave him a kiss. She didn’t know, but Cosima and Delphine watched her with a smile. It wouldn’t hurt. He was fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this chapter because it was a hard one to finish. I'll see you next week :)


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The before and the after wedding. Some promises were made and now were accomplished. A goodbye chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know I've been gone for more than a month now and I'm truly, deeply sorry. I had a writer's block and I wanted this last one to be the better it could be.  
> There's some French, but I'm not a French speaker (yet! I'm still learning!), so if any of you happens to speak the language, just bear with me through the mistakes, okay?  
> I won't say anything more, just: enjoy!

**48 HOURS BEFORE THE WEDDING**

“Mama, what are you doing? Can I come in?”

Annie had her face in the door gap, just the slightest, when she saw Delphine sitting on the bed with a little notepad in hands. The girl watched as she looked up and smiled gently and nodded, tapping on the empty spot next to her. She walked into the room and climbed onto the bed – still too high for her – to cuddle in Delphine’s arms.

“I’m writing my vows, but shh, don’t tell your mother,” she moved her index finger to her mouth in a silence sign. Annie pretended her mouth was a lock and turned the fake key and threw it away, giggling right after.

“But what is a vow?”

“Oh, _Dieu,_ how can I explain that to you?” Delphine said mostly to herself and faced the ceiling, trying to come up with a suitable explanation for a five-year-old. “Ok, so, you know in weddings when the people getting married say some words to each other? Like, how much they love them and how everything is more beautiful when the other person is around?”

Annie’s brows knitted together as she tried hard to think about it, but she wasn’t sure if she had ever saw something like that.

“I’m not sure, no,” she said. “But keep going.”

“So, there’s this part at the ceremony when we read those vows to each other. We’re just saying how much we love each other and how our lives changed. And it’s always beautiful. People are always smiling and some people cry, too.”

“I bet you’re going to cry!”

“Hey, excuse me! I will not!,” Delphine said pretending she was hurt, making Annie break in laughter. “And how do you know that your mom isn’t the one who’s going to be bawling after she hears mine? I’m not finished yet.”

“Because you’re always crying! You cried when I left with Camila, when Theo and I came back and when you asked mommy to marry you.”

Delphine let her thoughts wander back to those moments and smiled. A mixed feeling of anxiety and happiness hit her as the images of Annie and Theo being taken away hit her, but nothing compared to the warmth in her chest when those images got replaced by the memories of the kids coming back to them.

“Yeah, you’re right. I may be a little emotional, yes,” she answered with a soft smile as she watched Annie snuggle up onto her side.

“Are you anxious?”

“Yes, I am. I mean, I’ve lived with your mom for the last five years, but somehow this feels different.” Delphine brought her hand to cup Annie’s cheek, caressing it with her thumb. “I know you probably don’t get half of what I’m saying, though.”

“It’s different because now you have us! Theo and I.”

“When did you get so smart?”

“Since I’ve started school.”

Annie’s giggle was the last thing that could be heard before she took a deep breath, making the room fall into complete silence. Delphine managed to write some more to her vows before her arm – the one Annie had been supporting her weight on – started to fall asleep. She cautiously put the notepad back into her nightstand drawer, leaving a kiss on top of Annie’s head. The girl had been playing with a lose fiber from her t-shirt and Delphine just felt that wave of warmth and love hit her once again. 

A flashback of her live started playing in her head as she watched Annie’s chest rise up and down with her breathing, her fingertips gently touching the bare skin of her legs while the other hand was thrown on top of her stomach to reach the loose fiber on the other side. She remembered the very moment when Annie, still so scared and so fragile after losing her mother, couldn’t sleep and Delphine just rocked her and sang her to sleep with the most natural movement she had ever done in her life. The images of Cosima trying so hard on Elena’s case and never letting go of the kids, not once, showing that their place was with them and nobody else. And Delphine was so damn glad that she didn’t. So glad that Cosima was the most stubborn person she had ever met and wouldn’t let anything go until she had done it in her own terms. Glad that she found herself the most caring woman in the world who would put a baby sitting on the floor and still surround him with cushions and pillows so he wouldn’t get hurt. So glad that Cosima, the most grown up and responsible person she knew and yet her favorite hobby was to spend the day in bed watching any Disney/Pixar movie with the kids.

Suddenly Delphine felt Annie’s body loosen up on top of hers. Her fingers weren’t pulling the fiber anymore and her fingertips were no longer tracing circles on her leg. Her chest was rising up very slowly and she almost couldn’t feel it against her own body anymore. Delphine adjusted Annie’s body so she would lay more comfortably, but was stopped by the girl holding tighter onto her body. She didn’t want to be moved. Her head laying on Delphine’s chest, her ear perfectly placed on a spot where she could hear Delphine’s heartbeat was comfortable enough for her. The blond didn’t dare try to move her again and she didn’t care if she could feel her arm or not.

“You know, I’m totally going crazy in the next 48 hours because my sister and your sister won’t stop calling me and don’t get me wrong, I love them, but it’s actually driving me insane—”

Cosima walked into the room rubbing her hands to spread the moisturizer splashed on it, not noticing that her sleeping kid was in the room.

“Oh, sorry,” she whispered this time before opening a warm smile as she stared at them. “I didn’t know she was sleeping here.”

“Theo?”

“That little night owl? Awake as ever,” Cosima sat on the bed, carefully to not wake the girl up, and with some maneuvering she pecked Delphine’s lips. “I’m going to take her to her bed, okay?”

“Okay, but good luck trying.” Cosima’s brows furrowed for a second before she gently tried to take the girl away from Delphine’s body, being stopped by the same movement the girl did a few minutes ago when the blonde tried to move her. Her grip on Delphine’s body tightened and Cosima looked confused at Delphine. “She won’t go.”

“Hey, baby girl, let’s go to your own big girl bed,” Cosima whispered it, but the girl didn’t even move. When she tried again, the girl whimpered.

“No, mommy,” she whined with her eyes still closed, sleepiness taking over her. “I want to stay here with mama.”

“Just let her,” Delphine smiled and took advantage of the moment when Annie moved her body just a little bit and freed her arm, wrapping it around her body and pulling the girl’s body closer to hers.

Cosima quickly stood up as she heard a thud coming from the kids’ room and before Theo even started crying, she was there to comfort him. She had told Delphine that they needed to lower his crib since he was already standing up and any day now he would fall from it, but apparently they hadn’t lowered it enough. With a crying baby in her arms, Cosima ran downstairs to put some ice on his forehead, that was now red and a bit swollen from the fall. Her heart was racing inside her chest, scared that he had a concussion or something like that, and her first instinct was to call his doctor, but everything seemed fine. He had calmed down a little and his pacifier seemed to do its job, so she just made a note to herself to check on him and if something odd happens, they’ll take them to the hospital first thing in the morning.

“Is he okay? What happened?” Delphine was worried, but she tried to maintain calm. She saw Theo in Cosima’s arms, his head resting against the crook of her neck and the ice compressed pressed against his forehead. “Don’t let him sleep,” she said after she noticed his eyelids heaving and slowly closing.

“Why? You know that ‘don’t-let-your-kid-sleep-after-they-fall’ thing is bullshit, just some good old grandparents’ myth. It’s actually comforting to them.”

“Yeah, I won’t count on it, will you?,” Delphine said, getting an agreement hum from the brunette.

Cosima lied Theo down carefully on the bed, trying to not lose the contact between the compress and his forehead. Delphine moved her hand from Annie’s arm to rub the back of her hand gently against his cheek. At this very moment Cosima was glad that she picked a king-sized bed because there was enough space for all of them to lay down comfortably. Theo whined a little bit, turning around until he found Cosima’s hand hovering over his head and pulled it next to his face, gripping her finger and letting his eyelids shut.

“I think we should get some sleep because Louise is calling early tomorrow for us to decide some final things before the wedding.” Delphine tried to move without waking Annie up, laying her head on her pillow while Annie still insisted in keeping her head on her chest. Cosima closed her eyes and huffed.

“If I hear Natasha’s voice one more time I’m going to punch her through the phone,” she whined. “I love my sister but I’ve never been so tired of her voice as I currently am. That’s why people hire actual professionals and don’t let their family do the job, because they won’t see them again ever.”

“Just wait until the wedding is over and you’ll start to miss her again like crazy.”

“I highly doubt it,” Cosima said before slipping under the sheets and turning her lamp off, only a shadow of light coming from the hallway lamp. She covered both Annie and Theo, who quickly fell asleep. She let the compress rest on top of his head for a couple more seconds before she put it on her nightstand. “I wrote my vows today. I know I’m not supposed to tell you that, but to hell with it.”

“Language in front of the kids,” Delphine whispered and she swore that, even if she couldn’t see Cosima, she had rolled her eyes. “But I also wrote mine today. I mean, part of it. Annie walked in and then I had to stop. She said I’m going to cry.”

“And she’s definitely right,” Cosima laughed. “You’re one soft woman.”

“I am not! Just wait until you see what I have prepared for you.”

Cosima reached out for Delphine’s hands and intertwined their fingers, letting their hands rest in the middle of their bodies, between the sleeping kids.

“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you,” Cosima smiled.

“Neither can I.” And she really couldn’t.

* * *

**THE NEXT DAY**

“Natasha, it’s barely nine in the morning. Could you please stop screaming?”

Cosima had the phone between her ear and her shoulder, holding it in place as she put some bread on the toaster and had eggs frying on the pan, just waiting until they reached the right consistency to be scrambled.

Theo had woken up earlier than usual for him and Cosima was a little bit concerned due to the fact that he had fallen last night and had slept between his sister’s and Cosima’s body. Deep down Cosima knew the bed he slept in wasn’t the problem, since it had enough space for all of them, but the big bump in his forehead may have made him uncomfortable at night. Delphine was giving Annie a bath and had Louise on the speaker as she did so, having to stop from time to time because Annie desperately wanted to share how she learned that the sea water had a lot of salt in it and she couldn’t drink it or to ask Louise if she still knew how to speak French like Delphine did even though she was little when she left France. What usually would last ten minutes, turned out to be going to its thirtieth minute, but Cosima couldn’t worry about water waste right now. Not when she had her mad sister yelling at her.

 _“I need you and Delphine to come downtown to the last fitting of your outfits! I told you yesterday that it was schedule at 10AM! You have a busy schedule today.”_ Natasha sounded anything but happy at the moment. She and Louise have been taking care of every little detail of the wedding such as scheduling dress (and suit!) fitting, buffet tasting, decoration views and all of that. Cosima could understand why she was stressed out, but she wasn’t exactly in her calmest mood ever.

“I know what you said and we’re going to be there, but we happen to have two starving kids we need to feed before we leave the house. Delphine’s on the phone since she woke up with Louise deciding some details on the decoration and, I don’t know, flowers and I’m kind of with my hands full.”

The bread popping out of the toaster fell right into the plate that Cosima had strategically positioned, this way she wouldn’t have to worry about grabbing it and turning it off and, between all of that, burning the eggs.

A little bit of salt and the eggs were properly finished. Cosima took a deep breath when she turned off the burner.

_“Have you written your vows yet?”_

“Yes, Natasha, I have, actually,” she said with a softer voice now. Something about those vows made her happy in a strange way. “I’ll bring them along so you can read them, if you have the time.”

_“Of course I’ll have the time. 10:30AM is Theo’s nap time and I’m sure I can just handle Annie my phone so she can play Tetris or something while you guys try on the outfits.”_

“I’m sure you can.” Cosima put some eggs in a bowl and a plastic scoop and put it on Theo’s high chair. He quickly stuck his hand into the bowl and started eating. “You don’t have your juice yet!”

“ _I don’t have what?”_

“Not talking to you, talking to the baby. Ok, listen, we’ll be there at 10AM. As if you don’t know Delphine. That woman is so punctual she’s almost British. Now I need to go feed my son. I’ll talk to you later.”

_“Not a minute late!”_

“As if Delphine would let me.”

Natasha gave Cosima some more coordinates to where their day would lead before she hung up, leaving Cosima running against the clock to do everything she needed to in time. Her parents and Delphine’s were already in town, just enjoying the season and helping with everything that was within their reach.

All of those wedding programs never mentioned how hard it is to plan a wedding and how much effort is put into it or how much people it takes to make the thing happen and, especially, if you have kids to take care of. But, despite all of that, Cosima could feel nothing but happiness. And a little bit of anxiety.

“…and then I told Alice that I was going to walk down the aisle too and her eyes were like this huge! But then I told her that I was only walking with the rings and she was relieved, I guess.”

Cosima heard Annie’s voice, now not muffled by the shower and the closed door, clearly and higher each second until she saw the girl on the top of the stairs, followed by Delphine with wet hair as well.

“Well, that was cool, huh?,” she said as she took her hair in her hands to knead the curls.

“I need both of you to eat as fast as you can because Natasha has already called to lecture me and there’s _so much_ we need to do.”

Cosima sounded exhausted and she was indeed. All the wedding planning, running around at work and taking care of the kids as soon as she got home really got the best of her and has drained all the energy from her body. She didn’t like to admit that life with two kids were hard and it required a lot of her, but Delphine knew it did and she also knew that Cosima didn’t mean to blame it on them because they really were the least of their problems right now.

“Hey,” Delphine approached her, pulling Cosima’s face and forcing her to face her with a gentle touch of her index finger. “Slow down, okay? I don’t want you to pass out from exhaustion or something. We’re right on time. I’ll feed Annie and you feed Theo. We have the week off, the car is set. We’re going to do it together.”

“Okay.” Cosima gave her a half smile. Delphine held her face with both of her hands, leaning in to place a kiss on the tip of her nose. “I’m sorry, it’s just the pressure, you know?”

“Tell me about it. At least you’re not Louise’s sister. That girl, she’s… Intense.”

“Try talking to Natasha when she’s in a bad mood. That’s intense.”

“We have family issues, I get it,” Delphine joked before pecking Cosima’s lips, the brunette laughing in the middle of the kiss. “Now you sit there and eat with us because we still have… forty-five minutes before the day finally starts.”

“ _Starts?_ ,” Cosima said with raised brows, Delphine pulling up a chair to help Annie hop on it.

“Welcome to the married life, sweetheart.”

* * *

After two hours of fitting and adjustments, they were done with the outfits with only eight more things to do, according to Natasha’s list.

“Ok, but let me just tell you that Louise said that she already went to the location and she already sent me a picture of the flowers and the decoration, so we can check three of those out,” Delphine pointed at each to-do thing on the piece of paper Natasha held.

They were driving to another store to get Annie’s and Theo’s outfits and meet their parents to have a nice lunch together. They had reserved a nice Italian restaurant near the store and would meet them there.

“The others were more things _I_ need to do, anyways. But I do need your opinions. Do you guys already have the RSVP list?”

“I e-mailed it to you last night.”

“And the vows?”

“That I didn’t e-mail to you because I haven’t finished it yet. But I’ll send you a picture or a text of it, though. I was writing it yesterday and then Annie came in and snuggled up so I didn’t have a chance to finish it.”

“Ok, fair enough,” Natasha said from the backseat, between a sleeping baby and a singing girl. “Cosima?”

“Uh, yeah, same,” she said. “To the ‘I’m not finished yet’ part. But it’s almost there.”

“Yeah, I used to say the same about my homework and it never got ‘there’.”

“Lucky me I was never like you then,” Cosima mocked and got hit by Natasha.

For Delphine’s sake, they arrived at the store a few minutes later. Natasha and Cosima turned into real kids when they were together and Delphine found it the cutest thing, but not when they had the two actual kids with them.

“Are you excited to see your dress?” Delphine held out a hand to Annie before the girl got out of the car. Cosima had already taken Theo out and was now walking ahead of them holding his hand and watching his crooked steps.

“Yes! What color is it?”

“It’s lilac! Remember that picture aunt Natasha showed to you? It’s that dress. We just have to go get it from the store now. But first you’ll try it on.”

“I can’t wait to see it!” Annie shouted as they walked into the store. Delphine looked upon her and smiled.

“Neither can I. I bet you’ll look like a Disney princess.”

“Like Cinderella?”

“Yeah, you could say that. Or Belle. You look just like her and she also likes books!”

“Ok, I can be Belle. Theo could be the beast! I mean, a cute beast, not a _beast_ beast.”

“I told you we should’ve put _Beauty and the Beast_ in the wedding playlist.” Cosima whispered to Delphine, who huffed gently in disappointment.

“Damn, we really should’ve.”

“Hey, I’m Natasha. I called earlier and said we’d be here to get that lilac dress. I believe the girl who reserved it for me is called Emma,” Natasha said as a young woman approached them.

“Oh, right, yes! She told me you’d come. Please, follow me.”

Cosima watched Annie and Delphine disappearing in the hallway, between the racks filled with dresses in all shapes and sizes. Natasha was again on her phone talking probably to Felix because they were discussing make-up and hairstyles, which Cosima understood close to zero about. Theo had just woken up, the ten-minute car ride not being quite enough, and was a little bit cranky, so Cosima decided to take him out and just play with the boy outside.

He loved birds. Every time he saw one, he kept bouncing on his own feet and saying some word close to the word “bird” and “up”, which Cosima thought was the cutest thing. She sat on the front door steps, looking at the bright sky and the trees with its new leaves, searching for a bird or something to distract him.

It didn’t take long until Cosima heard Annie calling her, the sound of plastic being smashed and Delphine’s boots made her turn around and get up, taking Theo in her arms as she did. Annie held a plastic bag with what Cosima thought was her dress, but when she looked at the bag in Delphine’s hands, she immediately changed her mind.

“This is Theo’s,” Annie said, putting the bag on the counter next to her.

“It was too big for her to carry,” Delphine replied as she held up Annie’s dress in a holder. “She’s going to try it on and see if it needs adjustment. Can you try it on Theo?”

“I may need a hand, he’s a little bit cranky and I can’t decipher if it’s from the fall from yesterday or the really bad nap he had.”

“Maybe both. We can try to dress them both at the same time. Annie won’t be able to dress herself, these zippers are not made for a five-year old.”

“I can ask aunt Natasha to help me. She’s just standing there, doing nothing.” Annie said as she pointed to Natasha, who was leaning her body on the doorframe with her phone between her ear and her shoulder, a detail Annie didn’t seem to notice.

“Well, okay,” Delphine said holding back a laugh. “You go there and ask her. Mommy and I will be right here dressing your brother.”

“Okay,” she responded before she twisted in her heels and walked towards Cosima’s sister, making sure she yelled loud enough so the other woman could hear her. “ _Aunt Nat, I need you to dress me!_ ”

After five minutes, some struggle with dress’ zippers and formal clothes for a five-year old, Annie walked out of the fitting cabinet and knocked five times on the door of the cabinet Delphine and Cosima were in with Theo. Natasha didn’t mean to brag, but she was really proud of her choice of the dress. Once Annie was in it, she really did look like a princess and _felt_ like one too, which almost brought tears to Natasha’s eyes to see the girl so happy and excited about a piece of clothing.

“Mommy! Mama! Mommy, mama! Hey!”

The sound of the door being unlocked echoed quietly and the door swung open, revealing Theo dressed in a tux so small that could easily be from a baby doll. Annie opened the biggest smile as soon as she saw her brother, followed by some giggles.

Delphine didn’t expect to actually tear up with the sight of Annie dressed in her garment. She took a quick glance at Cosima to found her with her jaw dropped to the floor and Theo already standing up on his own feet. The light blue blazer and pants were the cutest thing Natasha had ever seen in her entire life and they seemed pretty comfortable too, since Theo wasn’t whining or trying to take it off. It was a relief because planning a wedding is hard and having a cranky baby in it wouldn’t be a very nice situation. The white shirt underneath him was glued to his body and didn’t seem uncomfortable at all.

“Baby girl, you look so beautiful!” Cosima said, taking her hand in hers and twirling the girl around. The lilac dress wasn’t the most detailed dress she had ever seen and nor she did want it to be. It was a kids’ clothing, it wasn’t supposed to be that glamorous, but Annie’s smile made it the most beautiful flower girl dress in the world.

“Mama is going to cry, isn’t she?” Annie looked up at Delphine, whose hands were covering her mouth in an awe expression.

“I think she already is,” Cosima answered with a chuckle, kneeling on the floor.

“Oh, shut it. She just looks so beautiful and I’m emotional, okay? Don’t judge.”

“I do think it needs some hem adjustment,” Cosima pointed out. The hem was beyond her feet and she would probably trip on it and God forbid that girl from getting hurt, which would be extremely easily since she would be walking on a carpet on top of a not-so-much steady floor.

“Yeah, I almost fell because I tripped on it.”

“It’s a simple process, we can adjust it now if you’d like.” The attendant said from the counter, trying to be of good help.

“We sure would like that. Thank you,” Cosima said directly to her with a smile. “But Theo’s is perfect. It seems like it was molded from his body.”

“It does, doesn’t it? I mean, they’re stretch-y and if he gets uncomfortable, we can just take the blazer off because the shirt underneath is cotton.”

“That’s it then? It’s all set?” Natasha asked, clearly worried about their schedule. “I literally cannot put into words how fricking cute this baby looks right now. If only Annie’s dress was yellow… The perfect Beauty and the Beast.”

“But I like this one,” the girl pouted.

“I know sweetheart, I was just thinking out loud. You look so beautiful in this dress as well. It was made for you to wear it.”

“Really?”

“Yes! Now you give your mama and your mommy a kiss and let’s get you out of this thing so we can go grab a bite with your grandparents.”

“Okay,” she answered giving Cosima a kiss on the cheek and then getting one from Delphine. As Annie walked towards Natasha again, the older woman pushed her gently with her hand on her bottom neck into the cabinet. “Aunt Natasha, where do babies come from?”

Natasha’s eyes widened like if she had seen a ghost and turned to look at Cosima, who had the same look but was trying so hard not to laugh.

“I’ll let your moms explain that to you.” Natasha answered quickly as they got into the dressing room.

“Do you have babies?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Do you _want_ babies?”

Cosima and Delphine heard Natasha’s struggle with the random conversation Annie had pulled. If they were being completely honest that wasn’t even that surprisingly for them because she seemed to always have weird questions – for her age – at the tip of her tongue. Some of them they manage to answer pretty well, but others they just would ramble about something else until she forgot about it.

“You better save some tears for the actual wedding, babe,” Cosima said as she took the clothes off of Theo’s body while Delphine held him.

“I can’t,” she said and still managed to laugh about it. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me. She was so beautiful and so happy in that dress, probably because she looks like a Disney princess, and it’s for _our_ wedding and… I couldn’t hold it back.”

“Can you imagine her walking down that aisle, holding Theo’s hand?”

Delphine could. She actually could and the image she had in her head was making her stomach churn in anxiety and happiness and a hundred more feelings that she couldn’t describe.

“I’ll tell Felix to not apply mascara on us.”

“Good call.”

* * *

Of course her parents would totally forget about her and her sister’s presence and drool over the kids **.** As Cosima stepped inside the restaurant, a bright smile appeared on her mother’s face and her father was already walking towards them with his arms wide open just waiting Annie to run into his embrace, which she happily did. Natasha greeted her mother, Delphine’s parents and then suddenly they were all greeting each other. It took a couple of minutes until everyone was properly seated and with menu in hands, ready to choose their meal.

“How are you enjoying the city, father?” Delphine asked after her choice was made, giving the waiter the menu back and checking if the kids were alright. She knew they were, but she did it anyways. Force of habit.

“It’s lovely, darling,” he said with his strong French accent. “We had never been to in spring before. It’s quite a nice view.”

“It is, indeed. I can’t wait to see how the wedding will look like tomorrow. You said it’s outdoor, right?” Adele added, taking a sip of the cold water sitting in front of her.

“Yes, it is. Natasha and Louise showed us some pictures and it’s amazing, really,” Cosima said. “We’re happy you were able to make it.” She smiled ever so gently at her soon-to-be parents-in-law, feeling Delphine resting her arm on her leg and grab her hand, their fingers intertwining automatically.

“Oh, of course, dear. We wouldn’t miss the wedding of our little girl for the world.”

“Hey, I’m the younger one.” Louise complained from the other side of the table, taking out her attention from the children’s book she was reading to Theo to distract him.

“I don’t see a boyfriend or a girlfriend who you could be engaged to, do I?” Louise rolled her eyes at her mother’s response, followed by the laughter of all sitting at the table. “Why are you rolling your eyes to me? You could have a boyfriend or a girlfriend, who knows? Maybe both. Your sister had a boyfriend and look at her now.”

“Maman!” Delphine said a pitch higher.

“Oh, did she?” Cosima played dumb, trying to get into the game.

“His name was Alexandre and we were fourteen. He was my first kiss.”

“Did you guys end up dating or something?” Cosima asked out of pure curiosity.

“Delphine says they didn’t, but I know they did. She can’t fool me.” Louise added.

“Way to keep a secret, huh?” Delphine said to Louise before she turned to Cosima. “We dated for, I don’t know, three months and then he cheated on me with a girl from the cheerleading team.”

“Oh, how dare him,” Cosima squinted her eyes with a smug. “It’s his loss anyway. And _my_ win.”

“What did you win, mommy?” Annie asked when her interest in the book in front of her was lost. Cosima saw her closing the book and she just smiled at her. “I’m finished.”

“I won your mama’s heart.”

“Oh, my God, you are so cute and it’s actually making me sad.” Louise whispered loud enough for Delphine to hear.

“And you and mama won mine!”

An “aw!” came out from all of them, no exceptions. Cosima’s mother watched it with tears in her eyes.

“Ugh, this kid.” Natasha said with her hand on her chest. “If my future kid is ever like this one, I’m going be the luckiest woman in the world.”

“The second luckiest,” Delphine corrected. “We’re already the firsts.”

Lunch went by great and Delphine was one to talk. With that many people around, it was easier to eat since everybody wanted to help feed Theo and distract Annie. At some point she did spill a little bit of grape juice on her pants, leaving a purple-ish stain that wouldn’t come off later, but Cosima didn’t mind that much. Those pants were already outworn anyways. Fifteen minutes after, Theo had fallen asleep since he hadn’t had his usual morning nap, with an angelic countenance in Cosima’s arms.

“Delphine, your father and I wanted to give you something.” Adele put her spoon down after she took a last bite of her tiramisu, placing the perfectly folded nap on her lap again.

“Uh, okay?”

Adele grabbed her purse, hanging on the chair, and took out from it a squared black box. It was a velvet box, just like a wedding ring box would be, but larger and thinner. Delphine looked at the object with furrowed eyebrows. It had a little red lace on one of the corners and a small envelope glued to it.

“First you open it, then you read the card.” Adele said as she handled the blonde the box. She nodded.

When her eyes met the diamond necklace inside, she had to fight the urge of letting her jaw drop. She doesn’t remember seeing it before and her mother couldn’t have bought it. The way it reflected the light, making it shinier, made it even more beautiful. Delphine grabbed the card and her lips turned up at the corners in a smile when she saw the handwriting, looking like it was from an old book.

_Juliette Cormier, 1937_

“It was my mother’s. She wore it on the day of her wedding and I thought that, maybe, you could wear on yours, too.”

“ _Mon Dieu, maman, c’est beau._ Thank you. Of course I will.”

“Adele, that’s beautiful.” Sally said, leaning her body forward to see the necklace in Delphine’s hands.

“My mother had very good taste, didn’t she?”

“That she did.” Sally agreed. “I wish I had something like that to give to Cosima, but she wouldn’t wear it anyways. She never liked necklaces or bracelets.”

“I’m a ring kind of woman,” Cosima answered.

“And I also have something for Annie.” Adele said, looking at the girl with a smile. She watched her face light up instantly.

“For me?”

“Yes, for you.” She took another box from her purse, but this time a smaller one, and gave it to the girl.

It was a golden bracelet, with some purple stones all around it. It was delicate and so small it could barely fit three of Delphine’s fingers.

“It was your mom’s. I gave it to her when she was about your age. There is not a special occasion where she wore it, but I wanted to give it to you anyways.”

“Thank you, grandma Adele!” Adele just smiled.

“I hope you don’t mind,” she whispered to Delphine.

“How could I? It’s a mother-to-daughter tradition, it seems so.”

“Mama, can you put it on my wrist? Oh, it’s purple! Just like my dress. Can I wear it tomorrow?”

“Why not?”

“We’ll match. You will wear the necklace and I will wear the bracelet.”

“Seems like a plan.” She smiled and started to buttoning the bracelet on her daughter’s wrist.

March 25th was the day. The day Delphine would commit the rest of her life entirely to Cosima. Not she hadn’t done that before. Tomorrow was the day.

* * *

Delphine tried to make sure that she would have enough sleep the night before, but failed successfully. The anxiety had taken over her completely and not even Cosima’s embrace helped her rest properly for the full day they were having the next day.

2:15.

2:15 and thirty seconds.

2:18.

2:21.

She wouldn’t be able to fall asleep even if she were hit by a pan, so she slipped off from under Cosima’s arm calmly and, after tripping on her own feet twice, she managed to leave the room without a squeak. Opening the door of her kids’ room, she found Annie sleeping, all curled up in her blanket and Theo laying on his belly, nowhere near to wake up.

Downstairs, she opened the wine cabinet and slipped, from under the glass of Cosima’s favorite wine, the paper she had written her vows. She knew that if she didn’t hide it, the brunette would read it. As she started reading those words, none of them felt right. Love words weren’t enough. Life promises weren’t enough. Cosima deserved more than that. The low light coming from the lamp was comforting, but the feeling in her chest was still overwhelming. She felt she was on the edge of a cliff and was about to be pushed down by the wind and her feet couldn’t move.

Delphine felt a pressure inside her chest and suddenly she couldn’t breathe. It was too much. It needed to be perfect, she couldn’t lose Cosima. She couldn’t see her life without her. She needed her. She was her safe place, her safe haven. She hadn’t even noticed she had sat down until she felt two arms wrapping around her, tightly. When Cosima’s scent reached her nostrils, she gasped for air. She was finally able to breathe again.

“Deep breaths,” Cosima whispered to her ear. “Spot five things around you, count them out loud.”

Delphine took a look around.

“One, couch. Two, lamp. Three, TV. Four, coffee pot. Five, toaster.”

The pressure in her chest was still there, making it painful for her to breathe. Her face was all wet and she wasn’t sure when she had started to cry.

“What’s your favorite fruit?” Cosima’s arms kept holding her tight, her hands rubbing gently against the skin of her arm. Her chin was resting on the crook of Delphine’s neck.

“Strawberries.”

“What’s Annie’s favorite movie?”

“Monsters INC.”

“When is Theo’s birthday?”

“January 10th.”

“What do you love most about this place?”

“You.”

Cosima didn’t say anything. She just stood there, her body against Delphine’s back, and held her. Held Delphine until she felt the woman stop gasping for air, until her face had already dried and her hiccups were gone. She stayed there until she wasn’t frozen anymore and was able to move her hand from her lap to grab Cosima’s hand.

After Delphine started sessions with her psychologist, she hadn’t had panic attacks in a long time. Mostly because when she was about to Cosima would always do what she had just done. She would distract her, keep her mind away from whatever was causing her to break.

“You’re okay,” Cosima whispered. “You’re okay.”

“I’m sorry,” she breathed, holding Cosima tighter.

“For what?”

“For this mess. I’m sorry to put you through this. To have been putting you through this for so long.”

 _You don’t deserve her,_ she thought, _she’s too good for you._

“It’s our mess. Whatever it’s making you suffocate we’ll deal with it together, just like we always do.”

Delphine took a deep breath and felt the corner of her lips turn up in a half smile.

_She loves you._

“How do you do it?”

“I know you and I have for a long time. And I love every single part of you.” Cosima kissed the side of Delphine’s neck gently. “I know the pressure of the wedding has been a lot for us, for you.” She stopped to see what was Delphine’s reaction to the subject. When she didn’t see a flinch or hurt in her eyes, she continued. “But tomorrow we get married. I’m going to be able to call you my wife, like, officially, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my days next to you, loving you and watching our kids grow next to you.”

Delphine sighed at the lost of contact when she turned her body and disentangled herself from Cosima’s arms to face her. Her eyes were smaller than usual behind her glasses, but her smile was just as beautiful as ever. She placed both hands on each side of her body, pulling her closer. She stared at her for what seemed hours, taking in every inch of the woman in front of her and never letting her smile fade.

“Thank you for loving me,” she whispered.

“Thank you for letting me.”

* * *

 

**THE WEDDING DAY**

The sound of the small waves crashing on the surface were calming and the contrast it made with the white bright sand on the floor was beautiful to the eyes. It wasn’t windy and the temperature was just perfect. The purple lilies were spread around the white carpet on the floor and the wooden chairs. The large wooden pilasters with a white shiny tend on top held white curtains at the entrance, making a fake door.

“It’s so beautiful,” Natasha said as she took a look around. Everything was in its place and everyone seemed to happy.

“We couldn’t have picked a better place.” Louise, who was standing by her spot next to the minister, smiled as she did the same. “And the room inside for the party is huge. How did you even find it? I mean, a private beach?”

“I have my ways.”

Everybody stood up. Cosima walked through the curtains with her mother and her father. They both would walk her down the aisle. Her face lighted up to see so many familiar faces and, on the last bench, Annie was smiling at her, Felix sitting by her side with Theo in his arms. She almost missed her spot, but the gentle pull on her face by her father as he placed a kiss on her cheek brought her back to the moment. It wasn’t a surprise that Delphine was waiting behind the curtains, but when she stepped on the white carpet, holding a bouquet of white roses, with a smile that could outshine even the brightest star, every person present felt the emotion. The smile on her mother’s face to also walk her down the aisle was beautiful and the emotion on her father’s face, the tears he’d shedding, were making it hard for Delphine to keep it together. The instrumental of _Can’t Help Falling in Love_ by Elvis Presley had been Cosima’s choice for her entrance. It described everything she felt when she looked at her. She couldn’t help falling in love with her every time she looked at her. Just like a river flows surely to the sea, she knew they were meant to be. She knew she was destined to be hers forever.

She reached out for Delphine’s hand and took it after she handed the bouquet to her mother.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here on this beautiful day to witness the union of Cosima and  **Delphine**. This is a day of great celebration and reverence, on which we come together to recognize and commemorate the love and dedication shared between these two people. It is wonderful to have family and friends here to join us today.” Sabrina, the minister, started reading the words written on her paper with a smile on her face.

“Can we just skip to the vows?” Cosima asked, getting a reprehensive look from Delphine.

“Can we?” The blonde added, making the people around laugh.

“Of course, why not?” The minister agreed, laughing as well. “Delphine, you may begin.”

The silence fell like a feather. Delphine’s hands were shaking against Cosima’s. She had a whole speech planned and she couldn’t remember if even if God himself made her.

“Ok, I had a whole speech prepared and memorized, but right now my brain is jelly, so bear with me, okay?” she admitted. She took a deep breath and look deep into Cosima’s eyes. “I knew, from the very beginning, that you were the one. From the moment I saw you walking into the precinct with that burgundy dress and a scarf, even though it was burning hot outside, and that smile that I adore, I felt it in my heart that you were supposed to be mine. God knows how much courage it took me to come up to you and ask for your number and, again, thank god you gave it to me. I knew it from our first kiss that no one could ever beat the feeling that your lips made me feel, the way your hand fits so perfectly in mine and how my plans for the future always seemed to be better with you in it. You stood by my side at my worst, but when I was at my best you were always the reason. I’ve never felt loved before until you came along. I love you endlessly, Cosima Niehaus. _Mon coeur est à toi pour toujours._ ”

Delphine didn’t dare shift her gaze from Cosima’s and she had to fight the urge to hold her face and kiss her as she watched the tears rolling down on her cheek and the smile on her face. She saw with the corner of her eye her mother bawling and some people drying the corner of their eyes with tissues, too.

“Cosima, you may now make your promise.”

“Well, how can I even beat that?,” she said, letting a giggle escape from her lips. “You know, she was always the one good with the poetic words, even though she kept those feelings behind a shell for so long. But, somehow, I found a way to them, to see all of you, and being able to be the person who makes you feel safe at night is the most unbelievable feeling in the world. To this day I still wonder how I got so lucky to meet you. Everyday has been a rollercoaster, the one that goes in loops and makes your stomach churn every time. It’s been a lot of firsts and there’s so much more to come and I want them all with you. Waking up next to your warm body wrapped around mine is priceless, it makes me feel like the most loved person in the world. Maybe I am. You made me dream about things that I never even thought of. Our life has been a crazy ride, but I’m glad you’ve been next to me holding my hand the entire time. We’ve built our family and there’s nothing I want more than to make you happy the way you make me. I am definitely not good with words, but there aren’t enough of them to describe you. You’re the one, Delphine Cormier, and you’ve always been.”

“Oh, God, that was truly so beautiful,” Sabrina said, wiping some tears herself. “You may now get your rings.”

“I don’t have it, do you?” Delphine whispered to Cosima, who just shook her head no. Delphine’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline in desperation.

Suddenly a suave melody echoed. They didn’t even notice that Annie and Theo were gone. Cosima looked at Natasha, who mouthed _“it’s a surprise”_ and winked with a smile.

The wave made by the curtains movement took their attention and, consequently, of all the other people too. As soon as Delphine recognized the song her eyes started to water and, this time, she wouldn’t be able to keep the tears from falling.

_Tale as old as time, true as it can be_

Annie was standing at the beginning of the carpet, holding Theo’s hand. She was smiling at everyone around and Cosima was sure that if she wasn’t holding a flower basket in one hand and her brother’s hand in the other, she would’ve been waving at them too.

_Barely even friends, then somebody bends unexpectedly_

Even with his crooked steps, Theo walked all the way to the end of the aisle. Cosima didn’t hesitate to pick him up and place a kiss on his cheek, with such a huge smile her cheeks hurt, as Annie handed Delphine the rings. She placed a kiss on Annie’s forehead as the girl hugged her. The song kept playing in the background and Delphine hadn’t noticed how some parts of the lyrics fit so well. She glanced at Natasha and mouthed a _“thank you”_ , glad that she had used the idea they had at the store.

Cosima tried putting Theo down, but he refused stiffening his body when Cosima mentioned to put him back on the floor. Annie had already walked back to her bench, giving Natasha the basket of flowers to hold.

“Okay,” she whispered to herself, keeping him in her arms. “Do you mind?” She asked the minister, who just smiled and shook her head no.

“Come here,” Delphine whispered to Annie, who smiled and ran to her mother’s side, hugging her with one arm.

“So, Cosima, do you take Delphine to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do.”

“Cosima, do you take Delphine to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“Say ‘I do’, mama.” Annie whispered quietly, only being heard by Delphine. She chuckled before she answered.

“I do.”

“To commemorate this union, you may now exchange rings. Will each of you please repeat after me as you place the ring on your loved one’s hand?” They both nodded. “I, Cosima, give you, Delphine **,**  this ring as a symbol of my love and commitment.”

“I, Cosima, give you, Delphine **,**  this ring as a symbol of my love and commitment.” Cosima repeated, placing the ring on Delphine’s finger.

“Now, Delphine,” Sabrina said. “Repeat after me, please. I, Delphine, give you, Cosima **,**  this ring as a symbol of my love and commitment.”

“I, Delphine, give you, Cosima **,**  this ring as a symbol of my love and commitment.” She smiled as she placed the finger on Cosima’s hand. Delphine wondered how she managed to hold Theo and still hold her hand.

“By the power vested in me I pronounce you as wife and wife.” Cheers. Claps. Tears. “You may now kiss the bride. If the kids allow you.”

“We’re used to it by now,” Delphine said with a tilt of the head before she turned to face Cosima and slowly leaned her body towards her.

They sealed their lips one more time, Cosima holding Theo in one arm and Annie jumping and clapping behind Delphine. She came in for a hug when they parted and they finally took a look around. Their parents were crying. Their siblings were crying and everybody was nothing but happy.

“You’re not going to throw rice on us, are you?” Delphine asked Louise, who was holding a small white box, as they stepped out from the altar.

“Not rice.”

They walked out from the tent with flower petals being thrown at them and smiles all around.

Each other’s. Forever.

* * *

After the party, everybody was exhausted. The kids had gone home with Cosima’s parents after they called it a night. Delphine’s parents had stayed a little longer, but ended up going back to their hotel room a few hours after. After eight hours since the beginning of the ceremony, the place still looked good. Some men came and tore down the tent, leaving the flowers in a box inside the building. Delphine thanked Art mentally for taking the photos while the ceremony was still happening, because otherwise they wouldn’t have photos to the wedding album.

Delphine was sitting in the sand waiting for her wife, one of her legs up and folded. She didn’t care if it was going to smudge her dress or not. She looked at the waves, stronger now than they were earlier, crashing and the calming sound of the ocean. The breeze was moving her hair gently as she felt a current of joy and happiness hit her. Even though Felix had made a pretty good playlist, nothing compared to the sound of a live acoustic guitar to Delphine. She stared back at the building’s wall, not far from where she was sitting, to find her guitar case resting against it. Quick on her feet, she got up and grabbed it, walking back to the same spot she was in before.

“What are you doing?” Cosima’s voice echoed behind Delphine and she involuntarily smiled.

“Playing the guitar.”

“That I see, but why? Aren’t you exhausted?”

“Kind of, but I have a surprise for you, actually.”

“Uh, for me?” She bent down, pecking her wife’s lips before she sat next to her.

Delphine’s fingers started moving across the neck of the guitar, each note played gracefully. She looked at Cosima once more before she started singing.

_Quand elle me prend dans ses bras_

_Qu’elle me parle tout bas_

_Je vois la vie en rose_

Cosima didn’t understand a word of what she was saying, but she knew the English version. Her heart raced in her chest and she thought for a second it was going to came out through her mouth. She loved Edith Piaf, but nothing compares to her wife’s voice.

_Elle me dit des mots d’amour_

_Des mots de tous les jours_

_Et ça me fait quelque chose_

The way Delphine smiled while she sang left Cosima speechless. It was so, so beautiful to see.

_Elle est entrée dans mon coeur_

_Une part de bonheur_

_Dont je connais la cause_

_C’est moi pour toi, toi pour moi, dans la vie_

_Elle me l’a dit, l’a juré pour la vie_

Cosima wish she could speak French now, just to join Delphine and also tell her those words she knew were coming, because she meant them too. Before Delphine could sing the next part, she joined her quietly.

_Give your heart and soul to me_

_And life will always be_

_La vie en Rose_

When Delphine strummed the last chord, Cosima quickly cupped her face and pulled her in for a kiss. Her lips tasted sweet and salty and she knew that she had been sitting there for a while, the sea spray hitting her face gently.

“La vie en Rose in French. Do you want to kill me, woman?”

“I love you, Cosima.”

“ _Je t’aime aussi._ ”

* * *

Cosima woke up to the rays of sun straight in her face, the curtain slightly open. She groaned before she disentangled herself from Delphine’s embrace, trying to keep her balance as she stood up too quickly for her eyes and the amount of drinks she had had last night. As she slipped back underneath the blankets, she heard Delphine sighing with the contact of her skin on her bare stomach.

Delphine’s phone started to ring quietly somewhere in the room. Cosima heard her groaning and trying to ignore the sound.

“Stop yelling,” she murmured, clearly annoyed and not ready to wake up yet. “Please, babe, make it stop.”

“Your wish is my command. But just for today.” She joked and placed a kiss on the crook of her neck before she stood up and grabbed her glasses on her nightstand to look for the phone.

When she found it, somehow, under the bed, she slid her finger on the green button not even bothering to check who was calling.

“Uhm, yes?”

“ _Cosima? Oh, God, finally.They’re awake!”_ She heard Felix’s voice vividly and way too loud. She heard his voice get muffled as if he had blocked the microphone. _“We were starting to get worried about you two.”_

“Awake is an understatement, but I’m managing to talk to you without just shutting off, so, whatever floats your boat.”

 _“Have you checked the clock yet?”_ Cosima hadn’t and she almost fell when she saw it was almost 3PM and noticed they had slept almost the entire day.

“Oh, my God! The kids!” Cosima shouted out of pure surprise.

_“They’re fine, don’t worry. But Annie has been asking about you and why you’re taking so long to come and get them followed by, and I quote, ‘what are they even doing there without us?’, so I just quickly changed the subject because, you know, I can’t talk about sex with a kid.”_

“Felix! No talking about my sex life or any sex-related subject with my daughter, please.” She sighed as she rolled back into bed, laying her head on Delphine’s chest. “But that went great last night, thank you.”

“ _Ok, gross. What are your plans for today? Because if you plan to do more not-safe-for-work things, we will need more clothes for the kids.”_

“No, we’re fine. We’re just going to change and pick them up. Delphine and I had planned to spend today with them. Give us thirty minutes. We’ll also bring some more clothes to them.”

_“What about your honeymoon?”_

“Oh, dude, there is no such thing as honeymoon when you already have kids. We’ll see you soon, okay? And tell Annie to eat all of her lunch. Or almost dinner, I don’t know.”

_“We’re at Louise’s and they already ate. Annie asked for broccoli. What have you done to that girl?”_

“Our kids are healthy, very different from your eating habits. Okay, hanging up now, bye.”

“I can’t believe we slept until three in the afternoon. Haven’t done that in a while.” Delphine said, Cosima burying her face further on her neck.

“I know, right? And my body still needs rest. Are you sure you want to go there today? We can easily go tomorrow.”

“We promised her a long time ago and it’ll be good for her. We’ve been so distracted with the wedding and I feel like we gave them no attention.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right. But it does closes at 5PM, so we need to hurry.” Cosima pointed out. She got up and walked towards their suite. “Are you coming?” She said with a smirk.

“Felix can wait.” Delphine answered, quickly standing up on her feet.

* * *

Annie ran around, kicking the dried leaves on the floor as they walked from the parking lot to the entrance. Holding Cosima’s hand, Theo was also taking little steps in the grassy and unleveled ground tripping on his own feet. With tickets in hands Delphine watched the girl’s face light up as she reached the gate first and greeted the security guard with a wave and a smile.

“Hi!” The young man smiled at her, losing the serious composure for a few minutes.

“Oh, hi there! What’s your name?” He bent down a little trying to level with her height.

“I’m Annie.”

“Nice to meet you, Annie! Is this your first time visiting the zoo?”

“Yes! Mama promised me she would bring me to see the rabbits and the frogs.”

“Do you know what else we have here? Turtles and tortoises. They’re not the same, but they look alike.”

Delphine tapped Annie’s shoulder gently and turned her face up to face her, with an anxious and excited smile.

“Mama, can we see the turtles and the _turtloises_ too?”

With a chuckle, Delphine smiled and nodded. She handed the security guard the tickets and, once they were checked, he opened the gate and unlocked the ticket gate.

“It’s _tortoise,_ baby, but yes we can. I was hoping you’d ask. Did you know that there was a tortoise once that lived for 175 years? Her name was Harriet.”

Behind them Cosima thanked the man as they walked into the zoo, being greeted with a huge map right at the entrance of the place. Theo was pointing to the trees and all the birds flying over their heads. The little boy was struck with the parrots of all colors and birds of all sizes and shapes.

“Oh, that’s a pretty name. How did she die?”

“She was pretty old and 175 is a pretty long time, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, it’s a lot. Oh, my God! Mommy, mama! Look! Giraffes!” Annie spotted the giraffes and their long necks eating some leaves right ahead of them and ran towards it. Even if Delphine tried to call her out and ask her not to run or to slow down, she was way too excited to hear her anyways. Cosima looked at her, with that shy smile that she loved, and quickened her steps to reach Annie, making Delphine behind, staring at their family, right in front of her.

Her wife walking cautiously with her baby, grabbing him by his hands and pulling up so he wouldn’t trip on a branch on the floor. Her daughter watching in awe the giant animal in front of her.

Delphine never even imagined to be struck with that much love. She didn’t even know her chest could ache with such a good feeling. She wanted to live in that moment forever and in all of those moments when the world were just them, together. If someone asked her if she regretted anything in her life, she’d say it would definitely be not meeting Cosima sooner. Not that it was much of her choice, but she was so damn glad that she did. She would say that she only regretted being so reluctant at first with the kids, because they were definitely the missing light in her life.

She didn’t notice she was standing in the middle of the park for that long until she heard Annie’s voice calling her again.

“Mama! We’re going to see the frogs, just like you promised. You’re not coming?”

Delphine smiled as she walked closer to them, a small tear of sweat starting to break on the girl’s hairline, the smile never fading from her face.

“I am, baby girl. I’m here.” She rested her arm around Annie’s neck, gently pulling her in for an embrace.

They walked around the park and saw each part at least three times. Annie kept asking questions, most of which they didn’t know how to answer, until the girl was worn out in exhaustion and had complained about being hungry. The picnic tables were perfectly nearby and Cosima sighed in pleasure when she felt her feet leaving the floor, still feeling the effects of last night’s party. When Cosima’s arms couldn’t hold Theo anymore, Delphine picked him up and walked the entire time with the baby in a piggy back, so she also pretty happy when she finally sat Theo on the table.

“Today was so nice, mommy!” Annie said as she sat down next to Cosima, the three of them sitting in the same bench, Annie in the middle, still trying to catch her breath after running around the entire time. “Thank you.”

“It was so cool, wasn’t it? What animal was your favorite to see?”

“The giraffes! And the zebras! And the frogs! And, also, the bunnies.”

“So, you liked every single animal in this zoo? You don’t have a favorite?” Delphine intervened this time.

“I mean, I liked them all, but I remember when I was at Maria’s and you told me how frogs don’t bite if I don’t hurt them first and about the bunnies, so they’re my favorite. The frogs and the bunnies. I wanted you to take me to see one and now you did!”

“I promised you, didn’t I?”

Suddenly she stretched her arms enough until each one of them held tight on her mothers’ bodies, trying to hold them both at the same time.

“Thank you for today. I love you so much.”

Delphine and Cosima simply leaned in and kissed the top of the girl’s head, at the same time.

“We love you too,” Cosima said.

“Very much. _Beaucoup,”_ Delphine complemented.

A moment of silence fell between them while they just stood there, holding each other and enjoying the moment. Delphine was the happiest she’s ever been. Cosima couldn’t put into words what she was feeling at the moment, a mixture of happiness and hope for what’s to come for them. They’re a family, they were _love_.

“Why don’t you go there and buy a popsicle for you? You can even buy that disgusting chocolate one you and your mom like so much.” Delphine pointed to a small restaurant ahead, but not too far.

“Don’t listen to your mom, she doesn’t know what she’s saying.”

“Can I go alone?” The girl asked as Delphine handed her enough money to buy two popsicles.

“Yes, you’re already a big girl. We’ll be here.”

“Promise?”

_Yes, I promise. I’ll be here with you, for you, for as long as I live. I’m not going anywhere._

“I promise. We’re not going anywhere.”

Delphine watched the girl nod in agreement before she ran towards the restaurant with a smile, the rays of sun shining behind Annie, her dress flying up as her body moved. She didn’t know much fit into her heart, how much she could feel or the extent of it. Now she knew. And it was all that mattered.

It fit three whole lives.

Four lives. Four lives that became one.

Five years ago, Delphine didn’t believe in destiny, now she did. She knew everything happened for a reason, but destiny was a word that she wouldn’t ever use to justify something. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe it was all destiny’s work. Annie and Theo didn’t happen by chance. They helped her face her fears and ghosts and, along with Cosima, they helped her heal. She never knew what happiness was truly like until they came along. Destiny brought them together and _that_ she couldn’t fight. Not that she wanted to anyways.

She wanted to watch Annie get her first A on a Biology exam and watch Cosima cry and shout at the rooftops of how proud she is of her daughter. She wanted to watch Theo get jealous when his sister grows a little more and can stay awake for thirty more minutes but not him, because he has to go to bed early, so he won’t be late to school the next morning. Delphine wanted to watch Theo win his first soccer game, or basket, or ballet, or whatever he wants to do and Annie holding her first medal after winning first place in a Gymnastics competition, or a volleyball tournament, or a Science fair. She wanted all of those first moments and the thought of them growing up that fast hit her like a truck. But that’s a thought for later because they still had plenty of time for that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that, kids, is how this story gets to an end.  
> I'm so happy with how this storyline finished and I'm so proud of it. Thank you to each one of you who are with me from the start and have gone in this journey with me. I hope I didn't let you down and could comply with your expectations. Thank you, thank you, thank you. From the bottom of my heart.


End file.
